ir«3HC 

THE  THREE  GIFTS 
OF  LIFE 


NELLIE  M.  SMITH 


THE  THREE  GIFTS  OF  LIFE 


"Women  can  do  three  things  to 
help  the  race  progress;  seek  the 
best  in  themselves,  demand  the  best 
in  men,  and  teach  little  children 
how  to  use  their  gift  of  choice." 


THE   THREE  GIFTS 
OF  LIFE 

A  GIRL'S  RESPONSIBILITY 
FOR  RACE  PROGRESS 


BY 

NELLIE  M.  SMITH,  A.M. 

Lecturer  for  the  Society  of  Sanitary  and 
Moral  Prophylaxis,  New  York 


WITH   AN    INTRODUCTION   BY 

THOMAS   DENISON    WOOD,   A.M.,  M.   D. 

Professor  of  Physical  Education, 
Columbia  University 


NEW  YORK 

DODD,  MEAD  &  COMPANY 
1913 


COPYRIGHT,  1913 
BY  DODD,  MEAD  &  COMPANY 

Published,  February,  1913 


CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION  By  THOMAS  DENISON  WOOD. 

i     PLANT    LIFE i 

ii    ANIMAL  LIFE 31 

in     HUMAN  LIFE 63 

iv    THE  GIFT  OF  CHOICE 93 


20921 62 


INTRODUCTION 

Young  people  to-day  are  more  fortunate 
in  many  respects  than  those  who  lived  at  ear- 
lier periods  in  the  world's  history.  For  girls 
and  young  women  especially,  life  at  the  pres- 
ent time  offers  more  opportunities  and  advan- 
tages than  ever  before.  They  have  more 
freedom  and  independence  in  the  home,  in 
the  school,  in  office,  store,  shop  and  factory; 
in  social  life,  in  work,  and  in  play. 

Enlarging  freedom  and  opportunity  in  any 
sphere  of  life  mean  increasing  responsibility; 
and  to  meet  this  is  needed  correspondingly 
broader  intelligence,  clearer  mental  vision, 
and  sounder  judgment  which  shall  be  suf- 
ficient to  all  the  situations  which  may  arise. 
To  meet  then  this  suddenly  widening  life 
which  is  opening  to  them,  girls  need  much 
new  knowledge  and  new  wisdom. 

These  modern  and  varied  opportunities  of- 
[vii] 


fered  to  the  girl  do  not  relieve  her  in  any  way 
from  the  fundamental  and  essential  responsi- 
bilities which  have  always  belonged  to  wom- 
ankind. Of  all  human  institutions,  the  home 
is  still  the  most  important.  By  far  the  most 
valuable  part  of  the  work  of  the  home  be- 
longs to  the  girl,  the  woman,  the  mother. 
All  the  conditions  in  the  home  or  outside  of 
the  home  which  affect  the  welfare  of  the  girl; 
her  health,  her  character,  her  personality, 
her  womanliness;  are  of  vital  importance 
not  only  to  herself  but  to  human  society  as  a 
whole  and  to  the  human  race  indefinitely. 

The  essential  womanly  virtues  and  qualities 
then  which  have  been  esteemed  so  highly  in 
the  past  are  just  as  important  to-day  and  just 
as  necessary  to  true  womanhood  as  they  ever 
were.  They  find  some  unusual  expressions 
and  applications  in  the  new  and  broader 
sphere  of  the  present  time  and  in  many  ways 
their  cultivation  and  preservation  are  more 
difficult  and  uncertain  now  than  they  were 
when  the  life  of  the  girl  and  woman  was  more 
restricted  and  better  protected. 

To  the  girl  of  to-day  often  comes  at  an 


INTRODUCTION 

early  age  the  necessity  for  making  her  own 
way  in  the  world.  To  support  herself  partly 
or  entirely;  sometimes  to  support  or  help  sup- 
port other  members  of  her  family  is  the  task 
set  before  her.  Whether  she  joins  the  great 
army  of  self-supporting  young  women  or  not, 
the  girl  always  has  the  privilege  and  the 
duty  of  guarding  and  conserving  not  only  the 
physical,  mental,  social  and  moral  values  but 
also  the  special  attributes  and  qualities  which 
belong  to  true  womanhood. 

The  most  important  contribution  which  any 
girl  can  make  to  the  human  race  is  to  realise 
within  herself  and  to  exemplify  before  the 
world  the  finest  possible  spirit  of  womanhood 
which  always  includes  the  spirit  of  the  mother. 
Whether  she  attains  sometime  wifehood  and 
motherhood  or  not,  every  girl  should  appre- 
ciate her  responsibility  for  being  a  fine,  true 
and  helpful  woman. 

If  the  girl  is  to  do  her  full  share  in  the  re- 
sponsible work  of  the  world  to-day,  she  must 
understand  better  what  life  means.  She 
must  understand  better  her  duties  to  herself, 
to  her  home,  to  her  girl  friends,  and  to  the 
[ix] 


INTRODUCTION 

boys  and  young  men  with  whom  she  associates. 
She  should  appreciate  also  the  importance  of 
these  present  duties  in  relation  to  the  future 
and  larger  tasks  which  life  may  bring  to  her. 
She  will  understand  in  this  way  and  in  some 
measure,  how  far  the  well-being  and  happi- 
ness of  others  are  dependent  upon  her  own 
life.  And  through  this  understanding  of 
what  her  life  and  conduct  may  mean  to  other 
lives,  she  will  gain  the  strongest  incentive 
to  fine  thinking,  fine  feeling,  and  fine  con- 
duct. 

If  our  human  world  is  to  be  made  better 
in  ways  which  seem  so  vitally  and  impera- 
tively important,  there  must  be  more  intelli- 
gent and  devoted  mutual  helpfulness  between 
boys  and  girls;  between  men  and  women.  A 
high  equal  standard  of  morality  for  both  sexes 
means  not  only  that  girls  must  maintain  a  fine 
plane  of  thought  and  conduct  for  themselves, 
but  that  they  must  help  their  boy  associates  to 
attain  a  correspondingly  high  type  of  morals. 

To  accomplish  this  it  is  necessary  that  girls 
should  appreciate  more  clearly  the  influence 
of  their  personality  and  conduct  upon  the 


INTRODUCTION 

thoughts  and  emotions  of  their  boy  compan- 
ions. They  should  guard  more  thoughtfully 
and  conscientiously  the  effect  upon  their  boy 
friends  of  influences  about  the  nature  and  re- 
sults of  which  most  girls  are  too  commonly 
ignorant,  or  careless,  or  both.  The  more 
attractive  a  girl  is  to  her  boy  acquaintances, 
the  more  important  it  is  for  her  to  realise  the 
power  of  her  influence  and  to  appreciate  the 
fact  that  her  qualities  of  attraction  are  gifts 
to  her  for  the  use  of  which  she  will  be  held  ac- 
countable. 

The  knowledge  and  conscience  relating  to 
these  serious  phases  of  life  should  not  lessen 
or  darken  any  of  the  wholesome  joy  and  glad- 
ness of  youth;  and  this  will  not  occur,  with  a 
rational  growth  of  intelligence  and  sense  of 
responsibility  coming  naturally  and  gradually 
through  the  years.  On  the  other  hand,  such 
an  adequate  development  of  the  girl  into  re- 
quisite understanding  is  the  surest  guarantee 
of  the  highest  usefulness  and  happiness 
through  a  lifetime. 

It  is  important  to  remember  also  that  this 
education  of  the  girl  which  takes  account  of 
[xi] 


INTRODUCTION 

all  the  fundamental  gifts  and  obligations  of 
life,  will  not  be  effective  unless  it  enlists  the 
finer  emotions;  the  religious  feeling  as  well  as 
the  intelligence  of  the  individual;  unless  it 
appeals  to  the  heart  as  well  as  to  the  mind; 
unless  it  stimulates  in  the  girl  the  spirit  of  the 
finer  altruism  and  inspires  her  to  subordinate 
her  own  desires  as  far  as  may  be  necessary 
to  the  welfare  of  others,  and  to  find  her  high- 
est and  truest  happiness  in  practical  devotion 
to  human  ideals. 

In  these  days  when  the  high  cost  of  living 
is  so  often  not  only  a  pressing  but  an  oppress- 
ing problem;  when  the  thought  of  people  is 
occupied  so  much  with  dollars  and  cents;  when 
popular  judgments  seem  so  largely  commer- 
cial and  materialistic,  it  is  important  to  re- 
member that  most  of  the  genuinely  best  things 
in  life  cannot  be  obtained  simply  or  directly 
by  money.  Among  these  best  things  are 
health,  character,  honour,  courage,  patience, 
cheerfulness,  unselfishness  and  common 
sense. 

Many  of  the  most  valuable  possessions  in 
[xii] 


INTRODUCTION 

life  then  are  within  the  reach  of  every  person 
who  is  reasonably  intelligent  and  earnestly 
devoted  to  an  unselfish  ideal. 

There  is  peculiar  need  at  the  present  time 
of  teaching  and  literature  which  will  in  clear, 
tactful  and  thoroughgoing  manner  help  the 
girl  of  to-day  to  realise  the  best  of  her  gifts 
and  of  her  opportunities;  to  attain  the  most 
effective  influence  and  the  highest  happiness 
of  which  she  is  capable.  This  instruction 
should  help  the  girl  to  understand  the  mean- 
ing of  life,  of  reproduction,  and  of  parent- 
hood. It  should  help  her  to  appreciate  the 
beauty,  the  privilege,  the  obligation  of  mother- 
hood. She  should  be  prepared  not  only  in 
strength  and  purity  of  body,  but  of  mind 
and  character  for  the  peculiar  responsibilities 
of  womanhood.  She  should  understand  the 
great  laws  of  life  as  illustrated  in  the  world 
of  nature  and  appreciate  the  influence  of  these 
underlying  principles  upon  the  plants  and  ani- 
mals and  also  upon  human  beings.  She 
should  also  understand  clearly  how  the  human 
being  may  rise  above  the  limitations  of  na- 


INTRODUCTION 

ture  and  control  the  creature  instincts  so  that 
they  may  enrich  and  ennoble  life  in  every 
way. 

Many  of  the  books  which  have  attempted 
to  instruct  girls  with  reference  to  reproduc- 
tion and  parenthood  have  contained  too  many 
technical,  scientific  facts,  or  too  much  senti- 
mentality, or  too  much  information  about 
disease.  The  book  in  this  field  should  give  in 
a  clear  manner,  accurate  and  well-balanced 
information  most  useful  to  the  maturing  girl. 
It  should  give  her  the  specific  knowledge  and 
guidance  she  needs  to  enable  her  to  live  safely, 
wisely  and  helpfully  in  her  actual  world.  It 
should  appeal  to  the  conscience  and  stimulate 
the  enthusiasm  in  ways  which  will  most  ef- 
fectively inspire  the  girl  to  admirable  living 
and  the  most  useful  type  of  social  helpfulness. 

THOMAS  DENISON  WOOD. 


[  X1'v 


THE  THREE  GIFTS  OF  LIFE 


CHAPTER  I 

PLANT    LIFE 

THERE  is  always  something  interest- 
ing in  living  things.     I  think  it  is  be- 
cause there  is  ever  something  new 
and  wonderful   to   see.     No   living  thing   is 
ever  exactly  like  any  other  living  thing,  neither 
does  any  living  thing  remain  always  the  same. 
There  is  a  constant  change. 

I  am  going  to  tell  you  the  story  of  life  and 
of  the  three  different  gifts  that  have  been 
given  to  living  things.  I  want  you  to  see  life 
as  a  whole,  and  to  understand  the  big  broad 
meaning  of  it;  why  there  is  a  constant  change; 
why  one  kind  of  life  differs  from  another; 
and  how  it  is  that  some  living  things  have 
progressed  so  much  farther  in  life  than 
others. 

Plants  and  animals  are  living  things,  and 
very  different  from  lifeless  things  such  as 
stones,  or  water,  or  air.  A  living  thing  can 
do  something  that  a  lifeless  thing  cannot  pos- 
sibly do ;  it  can  grow. 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

A  lifeless  substance  can  become  bigger  by 
simply  acjding  more  of  the  same  substance  to 
it.  If  you  put  a  good  many  cupfuls  of  water 
into  a  pail,  by-and-by  you  will  have  a  pail  of 
water.  But  a  living  thing  gets  bigger  by 
taking  outside  substances  called  food,  and 
water,  and  air,  and  building  them  up  into  it- 
self; or  in  other  words,  by  growing.  That 
is  the  great  difference  between  living  things 
and  lifeless  things.  Living  things  have  the 
power  to  grow;  while  lifeless  things  have  not. 

Not  only  do  living  things  grow  in  them- 
selves, but  they  produce  new  life  like  them- 
selves. The  apple-tree  bears  apples.  Inside 
the  apple  are  seeds.  If  you  plant  one  of 
these  seeds  in  the  ground,  you  will  get  an- 
other apple-tree,  which  in  time  will  bear 
apples. 

Lifeless  things  cannot  do  this.  If  a  man 
wants  corn,  he  plants  the  seeds  of  corn  in  the 
ground;  but  if  he  wants  watches,  he  cannot 
get  them  this  way;  he  must  make  the  dif- 
ferent parts  and  put  them  together. 

Not  only  do  living  thmgs  have  the  power 
to  grow,  but  they  must  grow,  if  they  would 

[2] 


PLANT    LIFE 

keep  on  living.  A  living  thing  that  doesn't 
grow  will  either  be  cut  off  from  the  best 
things  in  life,  or  it  will  die.  That  is  a  law 
that  everything  that  lives  must  obey. 

Just  as  in  a  nation  or  a  city  there  are  laws 
which  have  been  made  for  the  good  and  pro- 
tection of  the  people,  and  which  the  people 
must  obey,  so  it  is  in  life.  Those  people  that 
obey  the  laws,  get  only  good  from  them.  It 
is  only  those  that  disobey  that  get  into  trouble. 
The  bigger  the  law  they  break,  the  more 
trouble  they  find  themselves  in.  They  may  be 
shut  up  in  prison  for  a  time  so  that  life  is 
very  much  cut  off  and  restricted ;  or  they  may 
be  locked  up  for  the  rest  of  their  days,  away 
from  everything  that  makes  life  full  and  de- 
sirable; or,  if  they  have  done  a  very  great 
wrong,  they  may  even  have  their  lives  taken 
away  altogether.  So  it  is  in  life.  Those 
living  things  that  obey  the  law  and  grow,  con- 
tinue to  live;  while  those  that  disobey  it  must 
be  punished,  either  by  having  their  lives 
greatly  restricted,  or  by  losing  them  alto- 
gether. 

When  you  hear  the  word  grow,  you  do  not 
[  3  ] 


think  of  getting  smaller  and  poorer,  or  of 
remaining  the  same.  You  always  think  of 
becoming  bigger  and  finer.  That  is  the  real 
meaning  of  the  word.  If  you  look  in  the  dic- 
tionary, you  will  find  that  growth  means  ad- 
vancement, or  progress.  That  is  just  what 
life  has  been  doing  for  thousands  of  years; 
it  has  been  progressing,  or  advancing.  In 
other  words,  it  has  been  moving  on  and  up. 

When  first  life  began  on  this  earth,  it 
was  very  simple.  There  were  no  beautiful 
flowers  and  birds  and  animals  and  people  as 
there  are  now;  just  a  few  tiny  specks  living 
in  water.  Gradually,  very  gradually,  these 
developed  into  higher  and  still  higher  forms; 
until  the  earth  was  filled  with  all  kinds  of 
wonderful  life  as  we  see  it  to-day.  As  we 
learn  the  story  of  the  way  life  has  developed 
through  the  ages  of  time,  we  see  that  it  has 
been  constantly  changing  from  simple  to  com- 
plex forms;  from  plain  to  very  beautiful;  in 
other  words,  that  it  has  progressed. 

Although  life  as  a  whole  has  made  great 
progress,  some  forms  have  remained  in  dif- 
ferent stages  of  development.  Some  kinds 
[  4  ] 


PLANT    LIFE 

of  life  have  advanced  much  less  than  others; 
while  there  are  some  that  have  made  no  prog- 
ress at  all,  and  are  still  little  formless  specks 
floating  in  water;  so  small  that  you  must  use 
a  microscope  if  you  want  to  see  them  at  all. 
These  tiny  specks  are  alive,  but  that  is  about 
all.  Because  they  have  made  no  progress, 
they  have  been  shut  off  from  all  that  is  beauti- 
ful and  good  in  life  beyond  a  mere  exist- 
ence. 

The  great  law  which  all  life  has  been  obey- 
ing through  the  centuries  since  it  first  ap- 
peared on  the  earth;  the  law  which  it  must 
still  obey  if  it  would  continue  to  live  so  as  to 
get  the  most  out  of  life,  is  progress. 

Life  has  been  progressing  in  two  directions; 
first  in  the  individual,  and  secondly  in  the 
race.  The  progress  made  by  the  individual 
is  important;  but  more  important  still  is  the 
progress  of  the  race  as  a  whole.  This  race 
progress  has  been  helped  in  two  ways ;  first  by 
mating  together  of  the  best  individuals  so 
that  the  young  may  be  better,  if  possible,  than 
the  parents;  and  secondly  by  the  care  and 
protection  which  living  things  give  to  their 
[5  ] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

young  in  order  that  they  may  have  a  chance 
to  live  and  grow. 

As  you  all  know,  life  on  our  earth  is  of 
three  different  kinds;  plant  life,  animal  life, 
and  human  life.  These  three  kinds  of  life 
are  alike  in  certain  ways,  but  in  other  ways 
they  are  very  different.  I  have  just  spoken 
of  the  ways  in  which  they  are  alike;  they  all 
take  outside  substances  called  food  and  water 
and  air,  and  build  them  up  into  themselves; 
they  all  produce  new  life  like  themselves;  and 
they  all  must  obey  the  great  law  of  life  and 
progress  in  order  that  they  may  live  and  get 
the  most  out  of  life. 

Now  about  the  ways  in  which  they  are  dif- 
ferent; for  they  are  very  different  in  a  great 
many  ways.  In  fact,  I  think  we  are  so  used 
to  looking  at  the  differences  between  plant 
life  and  animal  life  and  human  life  that  we 
forget  to  notice  how  many  things  all  life  has 
in  common.  One  of  these  things  is  that  all 
life  must  obey  one  great  law,  the  law  of  prog- 
ress. The  differences  in  life  come  from  the 
ways  in  which  they  obey  this  law. 

Three  different  gifts  have  been  given  to 
[  6  ] 


PLANT    LIFE 

living  things.  It  is  by  means  of  these  gifts 
that  living  things  have  obeyed  the  law  and 
progressed.  Plant  life  has  only  one  gift,  and 
that  only  a  very  simple  one;  therefore  plants 
have  not  progressed  so  far  as  animals  have. 
Animal  life  has  two  gifts;  the  second  much 
finer  than  the  first.  Animals  can  do  many 
things  that  plants  cannot  do,  such  as  running 
and  swimming  and  flying;  all  because  of  the 
second  gift.  Now  human  beings  are  higher 
than  either  plants  or  animals.  This  is  so  be- 
cause human  beings  have  three  gifts.  The 
first  they  share  with  the  plants,  the  second 
with  the  animals,  but  the  third  and  best  of 
all  they  have  alone.  It  is  by  means  of  this 
third  gift  that  human  life  has  progressed  so 
much  farther  than  either  plant  life  or  animal 
life.  The  differences  between  plant  and  ani- 
mal and  human  life  come,  after  all,  as  a  re- 
sult of  the  differences  in  the  gifts  which  they 
have  been  given. 

But  each  kind  of  life  varies  greatly  in  it- 
self.    There    are    many    different    kinds    of 
plants,  and  many  different'  kinds  of  animals, 
and  people  also  are  different  from  each  other. 
[  7  ] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

I  believe  this  comes,  to  a  large  degree,  from 
the  different  ways  in  which  different  individ- 
uals have  made  use  of  the  gifts  which  they 
have  received. 

The  first  gift  which  was  given  to  life,  by 
means  of  which  it  could  obey  the  law  and 
progress,  and  the  only  one  of  the  three  gifts 
which  plant  life  has,  is  dependence.  Plants 
being  fixed  in  one  spot  must  depend  upon  out- 
side help  in  order  that  they  may  live  and 
grow.  Perhaps  you  think  this  a  very  plain 
simple  gift.  Yes,  it  is  the  simplest  gift  of 
all ;  and  yet  it  is  by  means  of  dependence  that 
plants  have  made  such  wonderful  progress 
and  have  grown  to  so  many  beautiful  and 
useful  forms. 

Every  girl  loves  flowers,  but  I  wonder  how 
many  of  you  know  how  they  came  to  be  so 
beautiful  or  smell  so  sweet,  or  why  they  grow 
at  all !  I  am  going  to  tell  you  the  story  of 
the  flowers  and  the  way  they  have  progressed 
by  using  their  one  gift,  dependence.  See  if 
you  don't  agree  with  me  that  it  is  more  won- 
derful than  any  fairy  story  you  ever  heard, 
besides  being  all  quite  true.  Then  you  will 
[  8  ] 


PLANT    LIFE 

love  flowers  more  than  ever  because  you  will 
understand  them. 

I  have  not  time  to  tell  you  how  plants  eat 
and  breathe  and  grow,  but  I  want  to  tell  you 
how  they  produce  their  young  and  what  care 
they  take  in  order  to  obey  this  law. 

Break  open  this  peanut.  Take  off  the  out- 
side skin,  and  then  carefully  break  the  nut  in 
half.  Do  you  see  in  one  corner  a  tiny  bundle 
of  leaves  fastened  to  a  small  nub?  That  is 
the  young  peanut  plant.  Of  course,  this  little 
plant  is  quite  dead  because  the  nut  has  been 
roasted;  but  if  you  could  get  a  fresh  nut,  and 
plant  it  in  the  ground  under  the  right  condi- 
tions, that  little  bundle  of  leaves  would  swell 
and  grow  into  a  new  peanut  plant.  The  lit- 
tle bundle  of  leaves  tucked  away  between 
the  halves  of  the  nut  is  called  the  embryo. 
An  embryo  means  a  life  at  the  very  beginning 
of  its  existence,  before  it  has  developed  into 
the  form  it  will  take  later  on. 

Now   take   the   embryo   plant   out.     It   is 

only  a  small  part  of  the  whole  nut.     Can  you 

guess  what  the  rest  of  the  nut  is  for?     Why 

that  is  the   food  stored  up   for  the  use  of 

[9] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

the  embryo  plant  until  it  grows  large  and 
strong  enough  to  get  what  it  needs  di- 
rectly from  the  earth  and  water.  The  em- 
bryo plant  surrounded  by  food,  all  wrapped 
snugly  in  a  skin  or  shell,  is  called  a  seed. 
There  are  many,  many  different  kinds  of 
seeds,  such  as  beans,  and  peas,  and  rice,  and 
nuts,  and  seeds  of  flowers  and  fruit.  They 
all  have  embryo  plants  tucked  away  in  them, 
but  some  of  them  are  so  small  you  can 
scarcely  find  them. 

The  plant  cannot  care  for  its  young  tucked 
away  in  the  seed  the  way  the  animal  can  care 
for  its  little  ones.  The  plant  must  depend  on 
outside  aid  to  help  it  out.  So  in  the  plant 
world  there  are  all  sorts  of  ways  of  protecting 
the  seed  from  harm  and  of  giving  the  little 
embryo  plant  a  start  in  the  world.  See,  here 
is  a  chestnut,  carefully  tucked  up  in  a  cradle 
lined  with  down  but  covered  on  the  outside 
with  a  prickly  burr  so  that  the  squirrel  won't 
touch  it.  The  pepper  stores  its  seeds  away 
in  a  cradle  that  is  so  hot  to  the  taste  that 
most  animals  prefer  to  leave  it  alone.  The 
peach  surrounds  its  embryo  plant  with  a  very 
[10] 


PLANT    LIFE 

hard  shell,  in  fact  so  hard  that  we  speak  of  it 
as  a  stone. 

It  is  to  the  advantage  of  the  new  plants  to 
start  life  at  a  distance  from  the  parent  where 
perhaps  there  is  more  room  or  better  soil. 
Plants  have  many  different  and  interesting 
ways  of  bringing  this  about.  Some  depend 
on  the  wind  to  blow  the  seeds  away,  while 
others  depend  on  animals  to  carry  them  to 
some  distant  point.  The  maple  tree  fits  a 
pair  of  gauzy  wings  to  its  seeds  which  are 
then  easily  carried  away  by  the  wind.  The 
thistle  and  dandelion  and  milk-weed  fasten 
the  seed  to  the  bottom  of  a  feathery  substance, 
and  when  it  is  ripe,  off  it  goes  floating 
through  the  air.  Some  plants  fasten  their 
seeds  to  what  we  call  a  burr,  or  sticker,  which 
catches  onto  the  coats  of  animals,  or  the 
clothes  of  people,  and  so  is  carried  to  a  dis- 
tant place.  I  don't  believe  you  could  ever 
guess  why  the  apple  and  orange  and  grape 
and  many  other  fruit  seeds  are  buried  in  the 
centre  of  the  fruit.  Why  that  is  just  a  beauti- 
ful luscious  cradle  for  the  little  embryo  plant 
tucked  up  inside  the  seed;  put  there  on  pur- 
[ii] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF    LIFE 

pose  so  that  someone  will  eat  It  and  then 
throw  away  the  seeds,  far,  far  off  from  the 
tree  where  they  grew.  The  same  is  true 
of  the  peach  and  the  plum;  only  in  these 
fruits  the  seed  is  enclosed  first  in  a  hard  shell 
so  that  it  may  be  the  better  protected  from 
any  harm.  In  berries,  like  the  strawberry 
and  raspberry  and  blackberry,  the  plan  of 
working  is  more  curious  still.  The  seeds  are 
small  and  set  in  the  pulpy  juicy  part  of  the 
fruit  which  is  good  to  eat.  The  birds  eat  the 
fruit  but  swallow  the  seeds  whole.  They 
pass  through  the  body  of  the  bird  undigested 
and  out  onto  the  ground  again  where  they 
can  get  a  chance  to  grow. 

You  can  see  how  dependent  plants  are  on 
outside  aid  in  order  that  their  young  may 
have  a  chance  to  start  in  life.  Those  plants 
having  the  best  contrivances  are  the  ones 
whose  young  will  be  most  likely  to  have  an  op- 
portunity to  live  and  grow.  The  seeds  at- 
tached to  feathers  or  sails  will  be  carried  off 
by  the  wind.  Animals  will  be  attracted  to 
the  best  fruit,  and  their  seeds  will  be  scattered 
on  the  ground.  So  that,  in  the  long  run,  the 

[12] 


plants  that  have  made  the  best  use  of  their 
gift,  dependence,  are  the  ones  whose  young 
have  had  the  best  start  in  life  and  have  pro- 
gressed. 

Of  course,  many  more  seeds  are  produced 
than  ever  get  a  chance  to  grow  at  all.  Many 
are  lost,  and  many  more  are  eaten;  for  the 
principal  food  of  men  and  of  animals  consists 
of  seeds.  Wheat  that  is  ground  into  flour, 
oats  that  horses  eat,  corn,  peas,  rice,  beans, 
and  many  other  things  we  eat,  are  just  seeds 
of  plants.  Although  so  many  seeds  are  used 
for  other  purposes,  always  some  fall  on  the 
ground  where  they  get  a  chance  to  sprout. 

As  the  little  plant  grows,  it  spreads  its  roots 
deeper  and  wider  into  the  earth,  and  the 
branches  and  twigs  hold  the  leaves  into  the 
air  where  they  can  get  the  sunlight;  for  the 
plant  must  have  air  and  food  and  sunlight, 
just  the  same  as  animals  and  human  beings, 
if  it  is  going  to  live  and  grow.  If  you  put  a 
plant  where  it  can  get  no  water,  or  if  you  shut 
it  in  an  air-tight  case  where  it  can  get  no  air, 
it  will  die  just  as  an  animal  would  under  sim- 
ilar conditions.  If  put  in  a  dark  place  and 
[13] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

kept  there,  it  will  grow  pale  and  sickly,  and  if 
kept  there  long  enough,  it  will  finally  die.  But 
plant  it  in  good  soil  where  it  can  get  all  the 
water  and  other  material  it  needs,  and  plenty 
of  air  and  sunshine  for  its  leaves,  and  it  will 
grow  big  and  strong,  and  by-and-by,  besides 
leaves,  we  shall  find  little  flower  buds  which 
will  unfurl  into  the  flower  borne  by  this  par- 
ticular plant.  This  may  happen  in  a  few 
weeks  after  the  seed  has  been  planted,  as  is 
the  case  with  the  pea  and  the  bean;  or  it  may 
not  be  until  the  following  year,  or  even  several 
years,  as  it  is  with  most  trees. 

A  plant  lives  its  whole  life  for  its  flowers. 
If  it  could  think  and  talk,  it  would  tell  us  how 
roots  and  stems  and  leaves  all  work  together 
so  as  to  produce  the  finest  flowers.  There 
is  a  reason  for  this,  for  it  is  in  the  flower  that 
the  new  little  plant  is  born.  That  is  what 
the  flower  is  for;  in  fact,  that  is  the  only 
reason  the  plant  bears  flowers  at  all;  for  as 
soon  as  the  embryo  plant  awakens  into  life 
inside  the  seed,  the  petals  droop  and  fade 
and  we  say  the  flower  is  withered.  You  see, 
after  all,  the  flower  was  made  not  for  our  en- 
[H] 


PLANT    LIFE 

joyment  primarily,  but  as  a  home  for  the 
future  plants  to  start  life  in. 

There  is  a  very  interesting  fact  connected 
with  the  coming  to  life  of  the  little  embryo 
plant.  It  requires  two  different  parts  of  the 
flower  to  bring  this  about.  The  flower  can- 
not bear  seeds  unless  first  these  two  parts  are 
brought  together.  I  like  to  think  of  them  as 
half-lives  because  it  always  takes  two  halves 
to  make  a  whole ;  and  the  life  of  the  plant  can- 
not come  into  existence  from  just  one  part, 
but  must  wait  until  the  two  are  united. 

The  half-lives  live  in  the  parts  of  the  flower 
which  are  called  the  organs.  You  know  we 
speak  of  "the  organs  of  the  body  as  those  parts 
which  have  some  particular  work  to  do,  such 
as  the  heart,  the  stomach,  and  the  lungs. 
The  particular  work  of  the  organs  of  the 
flowers  is  to  produce  new  life,  therefore  they 
are  called  the  reproductive  organs. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  reproductive  organs; 
the  male  organ  and  the  female  organ.  The 
male  reproductive  organ  produces  male  half- 
lives  which  are  called  sperms.  The  female 
reproductive  organ  produces  female  half-lives 
[15] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

called  ova,  which  is  the  Latin  word  for  eggs. 
If  left  alone,  these  half-lives  are  of  no  pos- 
sible use  and  will  never  come  to  anything;  but 
if  an  egg  and  a  sperm  are  brought  together 
and  unite,  they  form  a  whole  life  which  has 
the  power,  under  the  right  conditions,  to  de- 
velop into  an  embryo  plant  and  later  grow 
into  a  new  plant  like  the  parents. 

All  plants,  except  a  few  of  the  very  lowest 
forms,  have  both  male  and  female  organs. 
You  can  usually  find  the  reproductive  organs 
of  the  flowers  without  much  trouble,  especially 
those  of  the  wild  flowers. 

The  female  organ  starts  at  the  base  of  the 
flower  near  where  the  petals  join  the  stem. 
This  part  of  the  organ  is  called  the  ovary, 
for  it  is  in  the  ovary  that  the  ova,  or  eggs, 
containing  the  female  half-lives  are  born. 
From  the  ovary  proceeds  a  slender  tube  hav- 
ing a  smooth,  sticky  ending.  In  the  Easter 
lily  there  is  so  much  of  this  sticky  fluid  that  I 
have  often  seen  it  gathered  into  a  big  drop 
at  the  end  of  the  tube.  Some  flowers,  such 
as  the  Easter  lily  and  the  tulip,  have  only  the 
one  female  organ  right  in  the  centre  of  the 
[16] 


PLANT    LIFE 

flower.  In  other  flowers  there  are  several 
slender  tubes  starting  from  the  ovary  and 
extending  upwards  in  the  centre  of  the  blos- 
som. 

The  male  reproductive  organ  is  quite  dif- 
ferent. Usually  there  are  more  male  or- 
gans than  there  are  female.  You  can  tell 
them  by  the  yellow  powdery  stuff  lying  loosely 
on  the  top  when  they  are  ripe.  It  is  the 
yellow  powder  that  comes  off  on  your  nose 
when  you  smell  some  flowers.  In  the  Easter 
lily  there  is  so  much  of  it  that  it  drops  off  and 
stains  all  the  pretty  white  petals;  so  that  some 
people  pull  off  the  little  yellow  heads  before 
they  have  become  ripe.  The  yellow  powder 
is  called  the  pollen.  It  is  kept  shut  up  tight 
in  a  powder-box  on  top  of  a  stem  until  it  is 
ripe ;  then  the  box  opens  and  the  pollen  which 
is  dry  and  easily  shaken  off,  clings  to  anything 
that  touches  it.  Tucked  up  safely  inside  the 
pollen,  are  the  sperms  or  male  half-lives. 

When  the  pollen  falls  onto  the  sticky  ending 
of  the  female  organ,  it  is  held  fast.  Im- 
mediately the  little  half-lives  leave  their  yel- 
low powder  nests  and  go  chasing  down  the 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

tube  to  the  ovary  where  the  other  half-lives 
are  waiting  for  them.  When  the  two  half- 
lives  come  together,  they  form  a  whole,  and 
the  embryo  plant  begins  its  life.  Now  the 
petals  droop  and  die,  and  the  seed  becomes 
larger  and  more  perfect,  while  the  little  em- 
bryo grows  bigger  and  stronger,  fed  always 
by  the  parent  plant  until  it  becomes  quite  able 
to  start  life  by  itself.  Then  we  say  the  seed 
is  ripe.  The  apple  or  nut  falls  from  the  tree, 
the  strawberry  is  ready  to  eat,  and  the  thistle- 
down blows  away  looking  for  some  new  home 
for  the  embryo  plant  to  grow  up  in. 

But  there  is  a  puzzle  in  the  life  of  the 
flower.  How  do  you  suppose  the  yellow 
powder  gets  onto  the  sticky  end  of  the  female 
organ  ?  No,  it  doesn't  just  fall  on,  except  in 
a  very  few  cases.  That  is  an  easy  guess,  but 
it  isn't  the  right  one.  It  couldn't  be  for  three 
different  reasons.  In  the  first  place,  most 
flowers  have  male  and  female  reproductive  or- 
gans, but  some  have  only  male  organs  while 
others  have  only  female.  Some  kinds  of 
plants  and  trees  have  flowers  bearing  only 
male  organs  and  others  have  flowers  bearing 
[18] 


PLANT    LIFE 

only  female  organs.  In  the  next  place, 
very  many  flowers  have  both  male  and  female 
organs,  but  they  ripen  at  different  times,  so 
that  when  the  end  of  the  female  organ  is 
sticky  and  ready  for  the  powder,  the  powder- 
box  is  still  green  and  shut  up  tight.  Or  per- 
haps the  powder  is  ready  for  use,  but  the  fe- 
male organ  is  not  moist  and  sticky  and  ready 
to  receive  it  until  after  the  yellow  powder  has 
all  fallen  off  or  blown  away.  In  still  other 
flowers,  the  male  and  female  organs  grow  in 
such  a  position  that  the  pollen  couldn't  pos- 
sibly fall  onto  the  end  of  the  female  organ. 
You  see,  if  the  plant  could  think  and  talk, 
it  would  say,  "  I  don't  want  the  two  half-lives 
of  the  same  flower  to  unite;  because  the  new 
little  plant  is  not  likely  to  be  so  fine  and  per- 
fect as  it  will  if  the  half-lives  of  two  different 
flowers,  or  better  still,  of  two  different  plants 
are  brought  together." 

But  how  do  the  half-lives  of  two 
flowers  on  different  plants  come  together  so  as 
to  form  the  new  plant  life?  That  is  the 
wonderful  part  of  my  story.  Plants  cannot 
walk  about  freely  like  animals,  nor  fly  like 
[19] 


THE     THREE    GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

birds ;  they  must  depend  on  something  else  to 
bring  the  two  half-lives  together.  Plants 
are  very  dependent.  Since  they  are  by 
their  nature  fixed  in  one  spot,  they  cannot 
seek  what  they  need  by  going  for  it  and  hunt- 
ing until  they  find  it,  but  must  wait  patiently 
where  they  are  until  it  is  brought  to  them. 
If  there  is  no  rain,  or  no  water  is  brought  to 
them,  they  must  go  thirsty.  If  the  soil  is 
poor  they  cannot  move  to  where  it  is  better; 
their  lives  must  be  poor  and  stunted  in  conse- 
quence. The  best  they  can  do  is  to  gain  out- 
side help  in  sending  their  seeds  to  a  different 
and  perhaps  a  better  place.  So  it  is  with  the 
coming  together  of  the  half-lives.  The 
flowers  must  wait  patiently  and  depend  on 
something  else  to  bring  them  together.  This 
is  done  in  several  different  ways,  but  the  most 
interesting  way  is  by  means  ofjthe  little  honey- 
bee. 

The  bee  does  not  know  what  a  splendid 
service  she  is  rendering  to  the  flowers.  She 
is  not  a  philanthropist,  but  just  a  very  good 
business  woman.  She  is  busy  gathering  honey 
to  take  back  to  the  hive.  She  flies  from  flower 

[20] 


PLANT    LIFE 

to  flower,  getting  just  a  taste  from  each  one. 
When  she  lights  on  a  flower  and  sticks  out  her 
long  tongue  to  get  the  honey,  she  knocks 
against  the  powder-boxes  and  gets  the  powder 
all  over  her  head  and  feet.  Then  off  she  flies 
to  the  next  flower;  and  while  she  is  busy  in 
that  one,  some  of  the  pollen  containing  the 
half-lives  brushes  off  and  falls  onto  the  sticky 
end  of  the  female  organ.  From  this  flower 
the  bee  gets  more  pollen  and  off  she  goes  to 
the  next  carrying  the  half-lives  with  her. 
But  if  she  goes  to  two  different  kinds  of 
flowers,  what  happens  then?  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  a  bee  usually  takes  one  kind  of  flower 
at  a  time  from  which  to  gather  honey;  but 
if  she  should  go  to  two  flowers  that  are 
quite  different,  the  half-lives  would  not  fit  to- 
gether, and  the  pollen  would  not  be  of  any 
use.  It  seems  almost  as  if  the  plants  knew 
how  dependent  they  are  on  the  bees  for  the 
lives  of  their  young,  for  they  offer  all  sorts 
of  inducements  to  get  them  to  come.  They 
surround  the  organs  with  beautiful,  coloured 
petals.  You  might  call  these  the  bill-boards 
to  attract  the  bees'  attention.  They  breathe 

[21] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

fragrant  odours  for  the  same  purpose.  Then 
they  must  be  sure  to  keep  a  supply  of  honey 
on  hand,  for  if  they  did  not,  the  bees 
would  very  soon  learn  to  leave  them  alone, 
and  their  half-lives  would  never  be  brought 
together. 

Not  only  do  bees  carry  the  pollen  from 
flower  to  flower,  but  so  also  do  butterflies  and 
other  insects,  and  some  birds,  such  as  the  hum- 
ming-bird. There  is  a  kind  of  moth  that 
works  at  night.  The  flowers  which  it  visits 
are  white,  because  that  colour  can  be  seen  so 
much  better  at  night  than  any  other.  Then 
too,  they  have  a  very  sweet  odour,  so  that  the 
moth  can  know  they  are  near  even  before  she 
can  see  them.  Some  flowers,  such  as  the 
honey-suckle,  have  a  sweet  odour  in  the  day- 
time, but  when  night  comes  it  grows  very 
much  stronger.  So  you  see,  both  the  beauti- 
ful, coloured  petals  and  the  fragrance  of  the 
flowers  are  made,  not  for  us  alone,  but  for 
the  purpose  of  attracting  the  insects  that  are 
the  means  of  bringing  the  half-lives  together 
so  that  new  plants  may  be  born. 

Another  interesting  thing  is  that  each  flower 

[22] 


PLANT    LIFE 

has  some  particular  insect  to  please.  So  it 
adapts  itself  to  her  taste.  The  flowers  that 
are  visited  by  small  flies  and  other  insects  with 
only  short  tongues,  keep  their  honey  near  the 
surface  where  it  can  be  reached  easily;  but  the 
flowers  that  are  visited  by  the  butterflies,  keep 
their  honey  deeper  down.  The  butterfly  has 
a  long  tongue  and  can  reach  down  and  get  it, 
while  some  of  the  other  insects  can't  reach  it  at 
all.  The  nasturtium,  whose  flowers  come  in 
so  many  beautiful  shades  of  red  and  yellow 
and  orange,  keeps  a  good  supply  of  honey  in  a 
special  closed  tube  or  honey  pot  which  is  there 
just  for  that  purpose.  Not  only  that,  but  it 
marks  the  way  to  the  entrance  of  the  honey 
pot  by  lines  on  the  petals  pointing  towards  it, 
just  like  so  many  sign  posts. 

Just  think  how  much  work  the  bees  and 
butterflies  and  other  insects  have  to  do  in  or- 
der to  bring  the  new  little  plants  to  life ! 
Each  blossom  on  the  apple  and  peach  and  pear 
and  other  fruit  trees  has  to  be  visited  by  the 
bees.  Each  tiny  half-life  in  the  female  organ 
must  be  made  full  and  perfect  by  union  with 
the  half-life  from  the  male  organ  or  no  fruit 

[23] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

will  form.     The  flower  will  break  off  and  drop 
to  the  ground  useless. 

I  think  you  will  readily  see  how  wonderfully 
the  flowers  have  made  use  of  dependence  in 
getting  their  half-lives  brought  together. 
They  could  not  possibly  bring  this  about  by 
themselves  unless  the  two  half-lives  in  the  one 
flower  were  united,  and  this  would  hinder 
progress.  So  they  used  their  one  gift  in  get- 
ting the  needed  help  from  the  outside.  If 
there  are  more  flowers  than  the  insects  can 
visit,  the  poorer  ones  will  be  passed  by,  while 
those  blossoms  will  be  picked  out  which  are 
the  most  attractive  and  which  pay  the  most 
liberally  with  honey.  So  that,  in  the  long 
run,  it  is  the  better  flowers  that  have  their 
half-lives  brought  together  and  that  continue 
their  lives  in  those  of  their  young.  They 
have  obeyed  the  law  of  life  and  progressed, 
and  their  reward  has  been  more  life. 

There  is  a  large  class  of  plants  that  do  not 
depend  on  insects  or  birds  in  order  to  have 
their  half-lives  in  the  pollen  carried  from  one 
plant  to  another.  These  include  many  of  the 
trees  as  well  as  grains,  such  as  wheat,  and  corn, 
[24] 


PLANT    LIFE 

and  oats.  These  plants  depend  on  the  wind 
to  carry  the  pollen  from  one  flower  to  another 
and  thus  bring  the  half-lives  together.  But 
the  wind  has  no  favourites  and  serves  all  alike ; 
therefore  the  bright  coloured  petals,  and  the 
sweet  odours,  and  the  supply  of  honey,  by 
means  of  which  many  flowers  get  the  insects  to 
come  to  them  are  no  longer  needed.  You  will 
probably  say  that  these  plants  do  not  have 
flowers  at  all.  To  be  sure  they  do  not  have 
what  we  call  flowers.  They  are  not  so  very 
attractive,  as  they  have  no  pretty  petals  and 
no  sweet  odour ;  but  they  are  really  flowers  be- 
cause they  have  the  principal  parts;  the  male 
and  female  organs.  The  male  organ  is  sim- 
ilar to  that  in  other  plants;  a  powder-box  on 
top  of  a  stem;  only  the  stem  is  very  easily 
shaken.  The  female  organ  has  the  ovary  at 
one  end  containing  the  little  half-lives.  The 
free  end  is  well  exposed  and  so  formed  as 
to  catch  the  powder  easily  as  it  is  blown  against 
it  by  the  wind. 

Since    these   plants    depend   on    the    wind 
to   carry  the  pollen   from   one   plant  to   an- 
other,   they    must    supply    very,    very    much 
[25] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

more  than  is  needed,  because  much  will  be  lost. 
The  flowers  of  many  of  these  trees  and  grains 
mature  in  the  spring  when  we  have  so  many 
windy  days.  The  powder-box  hangs  out 
loosely.  When  the  pollen  is  ripe  and  dry, 
it  is  easily  swept  along  in  the  air  and  is  caught 
and  held  on  the  end  of  the  female  organ.  If 
it  is  the  right  kind,  the  half-lives  go  down  the 
tube  to  the  ovary  until  they  reach  and  unite 
with  the  half-lives  that  are  waiting  there  for 
them.  But  if  it  is  not,  if  it  belongs  to  some 
different  kind  of  plant,  it  simply  falls  off  again 
and  is  lost. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  examples  of 
this  method  of  bringing  the  half-lives  together 
is  found  in  the  sweet  corn  we  all  like  so  well. 
The  cob  is  the  female  reproductive  organ. 
Where  each  kernel  of  corn  is  going  to  grow 
is  the  little  female  half-life.  Out  from  each 
of  these  places  goes  a  long  slender  tube  which 
we  call  corn  silk.  The  whole  is  carefully 
wrapped  in  green  leaves  with  the  silk  hanging 
out  of  the  top.  At  the  top  of  the  corn-stalk 
grow  what  are  called  tassels,  but  which  are 
really  flowers  bearing  the  male  reproductive 
[26] 


PLANT    LIFE 

organs.  When  the  pollen  is  quite  ripe  and 
dry,  the  wind  blows  it  about  so  that  it  falls  on 
the  silk.  Down  every  long  slender  tube  of 
silk  must  travel  a  male  half-life  to  unite  with 
the  half-life  waiting  at  the  other  end.  Then 
the  little  plant  is  born  and  begins  to  grow  in- 
side the  seed,  the  two  half-lives  together  sur- 
rounded by  food  material  forming  the  kernel 
of  corn.  The  next  time  you  strip  an  ear  of 
corn  and  pull  off  the  silk,  think  what  had  to 
happen  in  order  to  make  the  ear  with  every 
kernel  perfect!  In  case  there  are  a  few  ker- 
nels, or  perhaps  a  few  rows  all  shrivelled  and 
unformed,  you  will  know  it  is  because  some- 
thing happened  to  prevent  the  two  half-lives 
from  coming  together.  Nature  is  lavish,  but 
she  is  not  wasteful;  so  that  a  seed  will  not 
develop  full  and  perfect  unless  there  is  a  per- 
fect life  within,  capable  of  developing  into  a 
new  plant. 

The  plants  that  are  dependent  on  the  wind 
for  bringing  together  their  half-lives  have 
made  use  of  their  gift,  dependence,  in  several 
different  ways.  In  the  first  place,  they  supply 
a  large  quantity  of  pollen  because  much  will 
[271 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF    LIFE 

be  lost.  Then  the  pollen  is  ripened  at  a  time 
when  there  are  likely  to  be  windy  days.  The 
flowers  of  many  of  these  trees  develop  before 
the  leaves,  so  that  the  leaves  won't  be  in  the 
way.  Finally,  often  the  flowers,  and  some- 
times the  whole  plants,  are  long  and  slender 
and  easily  shaken  and  swayed  in  the  wind,  so 
that  the  pollen  is  readily  blown  away  by  the 
wind,  and  as  readily  caught  on  the  end  of  the 
female  organ  as  it  is  swept  by  the  breeze. 

There  is  one  other  way  in  which  plants  have 
been  progressing  by  means  of  their  gift,  de- 
pendence, and  that  is  through  the  help  of  men. 
When  farmers  plant  seeds  they  take  the  best 
they  can  get,  so  as  to  grow  the  best  fruit  and 
flowers  and  vegetables  that  they  can.  Very 
often  when  one  farmer  has  grown  something 
particularly  fine,  he  will  save  the  seeds  and 
share  them  with  his  neighbours,  so  that  the 
next  year  their  crops  will  improve  too. 

Some  men,  called  plant-breeders,  who  are 
trying  to  see  how  beautiful  they  can  make 
flowers,  and  how  they  can  improve  fruit,  will 
take  a  little  of  the  pollen  from  a  very  fine 
flower,  or  one  belonging  to  a  particularly  choice 
[28] 


PLANT     LIFE 

plant,  and  put  it  on  the  end  of  the  female  or- 
gan of  another  flower  selected  for  that  pur- 
pose. Then  they  take  care  of  the  seed  which 
grows  and  plant  it  carefully.  They  repeat 
this,  over  and  over,  selecting  the  best  from 
hundreds  of  plants,  until  they  get  plants  with 
finer  flowers  or  fruit  than  either  parent  had 
from  which  they  came.  We  can  say  that  a 
man  who  does  this  is  simply  working  with  the 
law  of  life  and  helping  to  make  it  operate. 
One  man  named  Luther  Burbank  who  lives  in 
California,  spends  all  his  time  in  doing  just 
such  things  as  this.  He  has  devoted  his  whole 
life  to  improving  certain  fruits  and  flowers 
and  vegetables  and  trees.  He  has  had  some 
very  wonderful  results;  so  wonderful  that 
people  come  from  all  over  the  country  and 
even  from  Europe  to  see  his  farm  where 
he  grows  these  plants.  Many  of  the  finest 
fruits  and  flowers  in  the  world  have  started 
life  on  his  place  and  by  his  hand. 

Now  that  you  know  the  wonderful  story 

of  the  flowers,  I  believe  you  will  love  them 

more  than  you  ever  did.     When  you  have  a 

flower,  look  for  yourself  and  see  if  you  can 

[29] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

find  the  reproductive  organs  I  have  told  you 
about.  They  are  hard  to  find  in  some  flow- 
ers; especially  the  cultivated  ones,  but  in  many 
wild  ones  they  show  quite  plainly. 

There  are  just  three  things  that  I  should 
like  to  have  you  remember  from  this  talk. 
The  first  is  that  all  life  must  obey  a  law  if  it 
would  live  so  as  to  get  the  most  out  of  life. 
It  must  progress.  The  second  is  that  there 
are  different  kinds  of  life,  some  kinds  higher 
than  others.  All  life  must  obey  the  law,  but 
the  different  kinds  of  life  have  received  differ- 
ent gifts  by  means  of  which  they  can  obey  the 
law  and  progress.  The  higher  the  kind  of 
life,  the  more  and  the  finer  the  gifts  it  has 
been  given,  the  more  perfectly  it  can  obey  the 
law,  and  the  farther  it  can  progress.  Finally, 
plant  life  is  the  lowest  of  all  forms  of  life,  for 
it  has  been  given  only  one  gift,  and  that  the 
simplest  one  of  all.  This  gift  is  Dependence. 


[30] 


CHAPTER  II 

ANIMAL     LIFE 

IN  my  last  talk  I  told  you  about  some  of 
the  ways  in  which  the  plants  have  obeyed 
the  law  of  life  and  have  progressed  by 
the  use  of  their  gift,  dependence. 

To-day  I  am  going  to  tell  you  stories  about 
some  of  the  animals,  and  show  you  how  they 
too  must  obey  the  law  of  life  and  progress, 
if  they  would  continue  to  live  and  get  the  most 
out  of  life,  both  for  themselves  and  for  their 
young. 

The  beginning  of  animal  life  on  the  earth 
was  like  the  beginning  of  plant  life;  little  tiny 
specks  floating  in  water.  Although  plants  and 
animals  in  their  simplest  forms  are  much  alike, 
they  are  very,  very  different  in  their  higher 
forms. 

Animals  have  progressed  much  farther  in 
life  than  have  plants.  The  plants,  by  means 
of  their  gift,  dependence,  have  grown  strong 
and  beautiful  and  useful.  The  animals  have 
done  this  too,  but  they  have  done  much  more 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

besides.  Animals  are  able  to  do  certain  things 
which  are  not  possible  in  plant  life.  The 
higher  the  animal,  the  farther  it  has  pro- 
gressed in  life,  and  the  more  it  is  able  to  do. 
Fish  can  swim,  bees  can  gather  honey,  birds 
can  sing  and  fly  and  build  nests,  while  other 
animals  can  run  and  hunt  and  do  many  other 
things. 

The  reason  for  this  is  to  be  found  in  the 
second  gift;  the  gift  which  was  given  to  the 
animals,  but  was  not  given  to  the  plants.  This 
gift  to  the  animals  is  a  much  finer  gift  than 
dependence.  It  is  instinct.  Some  people 
call  it  blind  instinct.  They  say  blind  because, 
in  animals,  instinct  is  never  governed  by  rea- 
son or  choice.  It  is  just  an  impulse  to  act. 
The  animal  has  a  feeling  within  itself  to  act 
in  a  certain  way.  This  feeling  is  very  strong 
and  compels  the  animal  to  do  certain  things. 
The  animal  cannot  guide  or  govern  its  instinct. 
On  the  contrary,  the  instinct  governs  or  rules 
the  animal.  Instinct  has  proved  to  be  a  very 
useful  gift  to  the  animal;  for  it  has  made  the 
animal  do  the  right  and  necessary  thing  at  the 
right  time. 

[32] 


ANIMAL    LIFE 

An  interesting  thing  about  instinct  in  ani- 
mals is,  that  the  more  the  animal  uses  its  gift, 
instinct,  the  more  perfect  the  instinct  becomes, 
and  the  farther  the  animal  progresses.  Some 
of  the  lowest  forms  of  animal  life  scarcely 
use  their  second  gift  at  all.  They  live  by  the 
first  gift,  dependence,  almost  altogether. 
These  animals  have  not  progressed,  and  as  a 
result,  they  have  been  shut  off  from  all  that 
is  good  and  beautiful  in  life.  But  those  ani- 
mals that  have  used  their  second  gift,  instinct, 
have  continued  to  progress  until  in  some  of  the 
higher  animals,  instinct  makes  them  do  such 
wonderful  things,  that  even  the  most  learned 
men,  who  have  studied  certain  animals  care- 
fully for  many  years,  cannot  understand  this 
wonderful  gift  nor  the  way  in  which  it  works; 
they  can  only  admire  and  wonder. 

Instinct  shows  itself  in  many  different  ways 
and  has  been  given  different  names.  It  is 
instinct  that  makes  the  animal  eat  when  it 
needs  food,  and  either  run  away  from  its  ene- 
mies, or  fight  to  protect  itself.  There  are 
many  other  instincts  too,  but  one  of  the  strong- 
est and  most  important  of  them  all  is  the  in- 
[33] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

stinct  which  makes  the  animal  do  the  necessary 
things  in  order  that  new  life  may  be  produced 
and  may  continue  to  live.  This  is  what  is 
known  as  the  reproductive  instinct,  or,  as  I 
like  to  call  it,  the  race  instinct,  because  it  is 
the  instinct  which  makes  the  animal  do  those 
things  that  are  necessary  in  order  that  life  may 
continue  to  live  in  the  race,  and  may  not  end 
with  the  death  of  the  animal.  It  is  about  this 
race  instinct  in  particular,  in  the  lives  of  a  few 
animals,  that  I  am  going  to  tell  you  to-day. 

The  fish  is  a  stupid  animal  and  has  not  pro- 
gressed very  far  in  comparison  with  some  of 
the  other  animals ;  therefore  we  will  take  that 
first.  The  fish,  like  the  plant,  must  grow  if 
it  would  continue  to  live.  In  order  to  do  this, 
it  must  have  food  and  water  and  air.  It  finds 
all  these  in  the  water.  There  is  always  some 
air  mixed  with  the  water.  The  fish  is  so 
formed  that  it  can  get  its  air  in  that  way  only. 
If  you  take  it  out  of  the  water,  it  will  soon  die 
for  lack  of  air,  because  it  cannot  breathe  as 
animals  do  that  live  on  the  land.  Some  fish 
live  on  plants  that  grow  in  the  water,  while 
others  eat  fish  eggs,  or  insects,  or  smaller  fish. 
[34] 


ANIMAL    LIFE 

As  the  fish  need  food  and  air  in  order  to 
grow,  just  the  same  as  the  plants  do,  so  they 
create  new  life  like  themselves,  just  the 
same  as  do  the  plants.  That  is,  they 
have  within  themselves  organs  containing 
the  two  kinds  of  half-lives;  the  male 
and  the  female;  which,  when  brought  to- 
gether, will  form  into  new  little  lives. 
Every  male  fish  has  within  his  body  an  organ 
containing  male  half-lives  or  sperms,  and  every 
female  fish  has  the  corresponding  organ  called 
ovaries  which  produce  the  ova  or  female  half- 
lives.  The  ovaries  of  the  fish  contain  thou- 
sands of  eggs,  as  you  can  see  when  you  eat 
the  roe  of  shad  or  other  fish. 

I  am  sure  you  are  familiar  with  the  fish 
we  call  salmon.  Perhaps  you  have  not  seen 
it  whole,  but  you  have  eaten  it  canned  and 
can  remember  its  pretty  pink  colour.  It  has 
a  very  interesting  story,  and  I  am  going  to 
tell  it;  both  because  it  is  interesting,  and  be- 
cause you  will  be  reminded  whenever  you  see 
this  fish  how  wonderfully  it  has  obeyed  the 
law  of  life  by  its  instinct. 

The  salmon  are  found  in  different  parts  of 
[35] 


THE    THREE    GIFTS    OF    LIFE 

the  United  States;  but  the  place  where  they 
are  most  plentiful  is  along  the  Pacific  Coast 
and  in  the  rivers  emptying  into  the  Pacific 
Ocean  as  far  north  as  Alaska.  Here  they 
are  caught  in  great  numbers  and  shipped  to  all 
parts  of  the  country.  It  is  about  the  salmon 
of  the  Pacific  Coast  that  I  am  going  to  tell 
you.  These  are  usually  large  fish;  in  some 
rivers  averaging  as  high  as  twenty-two  pounds. 
Many  have  been  caught  weighing  much  more 
than  this. 

The  salmon  are  born  in  the  fresh  water 
streams ;  but  as  soon  as  they  are  able  to  swim, 
they  start  down  the  river  toward  the  sea,  us- 
ually reaching  the  ocean  by  the  time  they  are 
four  or  five  months  old.  They  live  from  two 
to  four  years  in  the  salt  water  where  they  get 
plenty  to  eat  and  grow  fine  and  big.  But 
when  they  have  become  fully  developed,  they 
grow  restless.  They  feel  something  stirring 
within  them  which  compels  them  to  leave  their 
natural  home  in  the  sea,  and  to  swim  up  the 
river  to  their  breeding  places.  This  restless- 
ness appears  among  the  adult  fish  at  certain 
seasons  of  the  year,  usually  in  the  spring. 
[36] 


ANIMAL    LIFE 

The  male  and  female  fish  look  alike  when 
they  are  living  in  the  ocean;  but  during  the 
breeding  season  the  males  change  in  appear- 
ance.  Their  colour,  which  before  was  grey, 
takes  on  a  reddish  hue.  The  jaw  extends  so 
as  to  form  a  sort  of  hook,  and  they  even  de- 
velop teeth." 

The  salmon  travel  in  great  companies  and 
over  long  distances;  sometimes  going  hun- 
dreds of  miles.  They  must  always  swim 
against  the  current  of  the  river,  often  dash- 
ing through  the  rapids,  and  even  leaping  sev- 
eral feet  into  the  air  so  as  to  get  over  the 
waterfalls. 

It  is  while  on  their  journey  up  the  rivers 
that  the  salmon  are  caught  in  such  great  num- 
bers. They  are  then  in  fine  condition  and 
are  full  of  life  and  spirit.  On  they  rush,  not 
even  stopping  to  eat,  so  bent  are  they  on  the 
one  thing  they  have  set  out  to  accomplish. 
They  keep  right  on  until  they  have  reached  the 
shallow  water  of  the  little  streams  and  brooks. 
Here  where  the  bottom  is  smooth  and  sandy, 
and  the  water  so  shallow  they  can  scarcely 
swim,  the  salmon  stop.  They  have  travelled 
[37] 


THE    THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

hundreds  of  miles,  through  rapids,  over  water- 
falls, taking  many  risks,  and  not  even  stop- 
ping to  eat,  just  for  the  purpose  of  finding  a 
suitable  spot  in  which  to  place  the  eggs  and 
give  their  young  a  good  start  in  life. 

The  female  digs  a  little  groove  in  the  sand 
with  her  tail  and  pours  into  it  some  of  the 
ova  from  her  body.  Then  she  swims  away, 
and  the  male,  who  has  been  waiting  near  by, 
swims  over  the  nest  and  pours  from  his  body 
a  few  drops  of  the  fluid  containing  the  male 
half-lives  or  sperms.  This  process  is  kept 
up  day  and  night,  the  fish  taking  turns,  until 
all  the  ova  have  been  discharged  from  the 
body  of  the  female,  and  fertilized  by  the  faith- 
ful little  male.  It  takes  about  two  weeks  to 
do  this. 

A  salmon  of  average  size  lays  six  thousand 
eggs.  Instinct  prompts  the  male  to  pour  his 
life-giving  fluid  over  the  ova  as  soon  as  they 
leave  the  body  of  the  mother,  for  the  half- 
lives  can  live  in  the  water  but  a  short  time  un- 
less they  are  united  so  as  to  form  full  and  per- 
fect lives. 

When  the  salmon  have  finished  breeding, 
T38J 


ANIMAL    LIFE 

they  are  in  an  exhausted  condition.  During 
all  this  time  they  have  taken  no  food,  but  have 
given  freely  of  their  life  and  strength.  As  a 
result,  they  have  lost  about  one-third  of  their 
weight.  They  are  quite  different  fish  from 
the  ones  that  came  leaping  and  dashing,  so 
full  of  life  and  spirit  up  to  the  greatest  event 
of  their  lives;  that  of  creating  new  lives. 
Worn  out  by  their  long  fast,  and  by  the 
process  of  breeding,  they  drift  helplessly  tail 
first  down  the  river;  none  ever  reaching  the 
sea  alive. 

Of  course,  very  few  of  the  six  thousand 
eggs  ever  develop  into  full  grown  fish.  Many 
are  lost,  and  many  more  are  eaten  by  other 
fish;  either  as  eggs  or  as  young  fish.  But 
those  fish  that  do  escape  their  enemies  leave 
their  birthplaces  in  the  brooks  and  streams  as 
soon  as  they  are  about  an  inch  and  a  half  in 
length,  and  start  down  the  river  to  the  sea, 
where  they  live  in  the  salt  water  as  their  par- 
ents did.  They  remain  there  growing  large 
and  fine,  until  they  too  feel  the  same  strong 
impulse  which  will  drive  them  back  again,  in 
most  cases  up  the  river  from  which  they  came, 
[39] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

in  order  to  give  their  lives  in  turn  that  their 
young  may  live. 

Is  not  instinct  a  wonderful  thing  that  will 
compel  so  stupid  an  animal  as  the  fish  to  travel 
so  far,  and  finally  give  up  life  itself,  in  order 
that  its  young  may  have  the  best  possible 
chance  in  life! 

The  story  of  the  bees  is  even  more  wonder- 
ful than  that  of  the  fish.  The  salmon  gives 
up  its  life  in  the  birth  of  its  young,  but  the 
bees  do  still  more.  They  devote  their  lives; 
working  early  and  late,  in  order  that  another 
bee's  young  may  live  and  grow. 

Bees  live  together,  thousands  of  them,  in  a 
little  house  which  we  call  a  hive.  Men  who 
keep  bees  prepare  a  hive  for  them;  otherwise 
they  would  have  to  make  one  for  themselves 
in  a  hollow  tree  or  stump. 

There  are  always  three  kinds  of  bees  in  a 
hive.  One  bee  is  larger  than  any  of  the  oth- 
ers, and  is  called  the  queen.  Then  there  are 
thousands  of  active  little  bees  that  are  called 
workers,  and  finally  a  few  bees  that  do  no 
work  at  all,  and  are  called  drones. 

The  queen  is  the  mother  of  the  hive.  She 
[40] 


ANIMAL    LIFE 

lays  all  the  eggs.  In  fact,  that  is  the  only 
thing  she  does,  and  she  keeps  busy  all  the 
time.  She  ought  to  be  called  the  mother  bee 
instead  of  the  queen.  She  was  called  the 
queen  a  great,  great  many  years  ago,  because 
the  people  living  at  that  time  thought  there 
must  be  a  ruler  to  govern  the  hive.  Now 
men  know  better,  but  she  still  keeps  her  name. 
The  queen  bee  does  nothing  whatever  but 
tend  to  her  own  business,  which  is  to  keep  the 
hive  well  supplied  with  bees. 

The  queen  bee  does  not  govern  the  hive,  but 
neither  does  any  other  bee;  and  yet  the  work 
is  carried  on  with  the  greatest  system  and 
order  and  no  confusion.  There  is  a  perfect 
division  of  labour  within  the  hive.  Each 
little  worker  bee  does  some  particular  task, 
and  does  it  well.  The  life  of  the  hive  is  gov- 
erned by  instinct;  that  impulse  within  the  ani- 
mal which  compels  it  to  do  the  work  for 
which  it  was  intended. 

Some  of  the  bees  gather  honey  from  the 
flowers,  others  bring  in  water,  while  many 
come  home  loaded  with  pollen  which  is  made 
into  bee-bread  for  the  bees  to  eat. 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

Some  bees  get  ready  wax  that  is  secreted 
from  their  bodies,  and  then  chewed  up  in  their 
mouths  until  it  is  in  the  right  condition  to  work 
with.  Then  they  pass  it  to  other  bees  who 
build  it  up  into  cells  which  will  be  used;  some 
for  storing  honey,  others  for  keeping  bee- 
bread  in,  and  still  others  by  the  queen  in  which 
to  lay  her  eggs. 

A  number  of  bees  act  as  nurse  girls;  feed- 
ing and  caring  for  the  little  embryo  bees  that 
are  developing  in  their  strange  cradles. 
When  the  young  bees  are  fully  grown,  their 
nurses  clean  out  the  cells  that  they  have  just 
left,  and  make  them  ready  for  the  queen  to 
lay  more  eggs. 

There  are  always  some  bees  stationed  near 
the  entrance  of  the  hive  to  act  as  guards  and 
keep  away  the  enemies.  Some  bees  keep 
the  hive  clean  by  removing  refuse  or  bodies 
of  dead  bees. 

One  very  interesting  group  of  bees  ar- 
ranged in  long  lines  act  as  living  fans.  They 
keep  the  air  of  the  hive  in  constant  circula- 
tion by  the  buzzing  of  their  wings.  It  is  said 
that  bees  can  control  the  direction  that  this 
[42] 


ANIMAL    LIFE 

current  of  air  takes,  and  can  also  raise  or  lower 
the  temperature  of  the  hive,  by  the  number  of 
bees  that  are  put  to  work  and  the  amount  of 
air  that  is  kept  in  circulation. 

Although  there  are  so  many  different  things 
to  do,  and  no  leader  to  direct  the  work,  still 
there  is  no  disorder  or  quarrelling  or  con- 
fusion; for  this  wonderful  city  is  governed  by 
instinct,  and  each  little  bee  obeys  the  law. 

Another  interesting  thing  is,  that  during  her 
short  life,  which  is  only  from  four  to  six 
weeks,  each  little  worker  bee  learns  all  the  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  work.  Her  first  duty  is  to 
act  as  nurse  girl  and  to  feed  and  tend  the  little 
embryo  bees.  Then  she  learns  to  mix  the  wax 
and  build  cells,  and  do  the  other  kinds  of 
work  in  the  hive.  It  is  not  until  she  is  quite  a 
staid  and  dignified  bee  that  she  leaves  the 
hive  to  bring  in  the  things  that  are  needed. 
Her  last  days  are  spent  among  the  flowers 
gathering  honey. 

We  have  already  seen  what  an  invaluable 

service  the  bees  give  to  the   flowers.     If  it 

were  not  for  the  bees,  many  different  varieties 

of  flowers  would  die  out,  because  there  would 

[43] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

be  no  way  in  which  their  half-lives  could  be 
brought  together  and  the  life  of  the  embryo 
plant  be  started  in  the  seed.  The  bees  begin 
their  work  as  soon  as  the  first  flower  opens  in 
the  spring,  and  continue  until  the  cold  weather 
causes  the  flowers  to  die.  One  cold  day  in 
March  I  was  down  in  the  business  part  of 
New  York  City  buying  some  flowers  for 
Easter.  A  lilac  bush  in  blossom  stood  on  the 
sidewalk.  Hovering  around  were  several 
honey  bees.  I  have  often  wondered  where 
they  came  from  and  how  they  knew  those 
flowers  were  there. 

Many  of  the  little  worker  bees  are  busy  all 
day  flitting  from  flower  to  flower  in  search  of 
honey.  A  bee  must  visit  a  great  many  flowers 
before  she  can  gather  a  single  drop.  When 
her  honey  bag  which  holds  a  very  small  drop 
is  full,  she  flies  back  to  the  hive  and  puts  the 
honey  in  a  little  cell  which  other  bees  have 
made  ready  out  of  wax.  If  you  have  ever 
seen  honey  in  the  honey-comb,  as  it  is  often 
sold,  you  know  what  I  mean. 

All  this  work  which  each  little  worker  bee 
crowds  into  her  short  life,  is  not  for  herself 
[44] 


ANIMAL    LIFE 

at  all,  but  for  the  larger  good  of  the  hive;  and 
more  particularly  in  order  that  the  young  bees 
that  are  developing  from  the  eggs  laid  by  the 
queen  may  have  the  best  possible  chance  to 
live  and  develop. 

The  queen  lays  hundreds  of  eggs  a  day, 
and  in  the  very  busy  season,  when  the  sun 
shines  brightly  and  there  is  an  abundance  of 
flowers,  as  many  as  three  thousand  in  a  single 
day.  You  can  see  how  busy  the  other  bees 
must  be  to  keep  getting  cells  ready  for  her  to 
place  them  in.  The  queen  bee  is  too  busy  to 
look  after  her  own  wants,  even  to  feed  her- 
self. So  several  bees  act  as  her  attendants; 
feeding  her  with  a  special  choice  honey, 
cleaning  her,  and  guiding  her  from  one  cell 
to  the  next,  that  there  may  be  no  delay  in  her 
business  of  egg-laying. 

All  the  bees  work  except  the  drones. 
These  fly  about  in  the  sunshine  among  the 
flowers,  but  they  don't  do  any  work,  even  to 
getting  their  own  food.  They  are  fed  by 
the  faithful  little  worker  bees.  The  drones 
are  the  males.  The  worker  bees  are  females, 
only  their  organs  of  reproduction  have  not 
[45] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

grown  large  and  perfect,  so  they  are  not  able 
to  lay  eggs  as  the  queen  does. 

The  queen  bee  is  a  worker  bee  whose  or- 
gans of  reproduction  have  fully  developed. 
A  hive  of  bees  cannot  get  along  without  a 
queen.  If  anything  happens  to  her,  there  is 
the  greatest  disorder  and  confusion  until  an- 
other queen  is  found  to  take  her  place. 
Therefore  instinct  prompts  the  little  bees  to 
prepare  against  such  a  disaster.  When  the 
hive  becomes  very  crowded,  the  queen  takes 
a  part  of  the  workers  and  drones,  and  seeks 
a  new  home,  or,  as  bee-keepers  say,  the  bees 
swarm.  But  before  this  happens,  a  new 
queen  must  be  found  to  take  her  place.  So 
the  little  worker  bees  break  down  the  par- 
titions between  some  of  the  cells,  making  a 
large  cell  which  is  capped  to  look  like  a  thimble. 
The  embryo  bee  which  develops  in  this  cell  is 
carefully  watched  and  fed  with  specially  pre- 
pared honey;  a  sort  of  royal  nectar.  In  fact, 
it  is  kept  fairly  stuffed  with  the  best  and  most 
nutritious  kind  of  food.  In  consequence  it 
grows,  and  grows,  developing  fully  in  every 
way;  so  that  when  it  finally  comes  out  of  the 
[46] 


ANIMAL    LIFE 

cell  it  is  a  full-fledged  queen  with  its  organs 
of  reproduction  perfectly  developed  and  ready 
to  fulfil  their  function;  that  of  laying  eggs. 
Before  the  new  queen  comes  out  of  her  cell, 
the  old  or  dowager  queen,  as  you  might  call 
her,  takes  her  departure  followed  by  part  of 
the  worker  bees  and  part  of  the  drones,  some 
always  remaining  in  the  hive  with  the  new 
queen. 

It  would  never  do  to  have  more  than  one 
queen  in  the  hive  at  a  time.  This  would 
cause  as  much  trouble  as  not  having  any,  for 
the  two  queens  could  never  in  the  world  agree. 
However,  there  are  always  several  queens 
raised  at  a  time;  so  if  anything  happens  to 
one,  there  will  be  another  to  take  her  place. 
But  the  young  queens  are  not  allowed  to  leave 
their  cells  as  soon  as  they  are  hatched,  as  the 
worker  bees  do.  They  are  kept  prisoners  un- 
til the  time  is  ready  for  them  to  be  set  free. 
For,  were  they  allowed  to  go  about  freely 
while  the  old  queen  is  still  in  the  hive,  she 
would  rush  at  them  and  sting  them  to  death. 

After  the  old  queen  has  gone,  one  of  the 
little  princesses  is  allowed  to  come  out  of  her 
[47] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

cell  and  roam  about  the  hive.  If  permitted, 
she  will  go  straight  to  the  other  queen  cells, 
and  tearing  off  the  covers,  stab  her  poor  little 
sisters  to  death.  Often  the  workers  guard 
the  little  helpless  victims  and  save  them  from 
her  fury;  for  one  of  these  may  be  needed  if 
they  should  by  any  chance  lose  their  new 
queen. 

For  a  few  days  the  new  queen  wanders 
aimlessly  about  the  hive;  but  it  is  not  for  long 
that  she  is  content  to  live  an  idle  life;  for 
soon  she  feels  stirring  within  herself  that 
instinct  which  compels  her  to  begin  her  life 
work;  the  purpose  for  which  she  was  created. 
Some  day  when  the  sky  is  very  blue  and  the 
sun  is  shining  brightly,  she  sets  out  on  her 
mating  flight;  the  only  time  she  will  ever 
leave  her  hive,  unless  it  is  to  swarm.  For  a 
while  she  lingers  near  the  door  of  the  hive. 
Then  she  flies  off  into  the  sunshine;  only  to 
return  after  a  few  moments  as  if  to  get  her 
bearings.  Then  off  she  goes  again. 

The  drones,  or  male  bees,  of  her  hive  and 
of  all  the  hives  around,  are  flying  lazily  about 
in  the  sunshine.  The  sight  of  the  queen  bee 
[48] 


ANIMAL    LIFE 

arouses  them  from  their  sleepy  state,  and 
sends  a  strange  thrill  of  excitement  through 
:hem.  Off  they  go,  chasing  after  her,  up 
towards  the  sky.  Higher  and  higher  they 
fly,  the  queen  followed  by  her  train  of  suitors, 
the  drones.  After  a  while  the  weaker  ones 
begin  to  drop  off.  Finally,  one  succeeds  in 
reaching  the  queen.  They  clasp  for  just  one 
moment,  in  which  the  drone  places  the  half- 
lives  from  his  body  into  a  sort  of  pocket  or 
pouch  which  is  in  the  queen's  body  for  just 
that  purpose.  But  the  unusual  exertion  which 
he  has  been  under  is  too  much  for  the  lazy 
little  drone;  for  in  giving  up  the  half-lives  he 
loses  the  organ  of  reproduction  in  which  they 
were  contained,  and  some  of  his  other  organs 
as  well,  and  he  falls  to  earth  lifeless.  He  has 
given  his  life  for  the  sake  of  the  future  bees. 
Well  can  the  little  worker  bees  afford  to  take 
care  of  and  feed  him,  since  he  makes  such  a 
supreme  sacrifice  at  the  end. 

The  queen  now  returns  to  the  hive  carrying 

with  her  all  that  is  needed  to  start  the  new 

little  bees  in  life.     In  a  short  time  she  begins 

her  life  work.     She  places  in  one  of  the  cells 

[49] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

prepared  for  that  purpose,  a  tiny  egg  con- 
taining a  half-life  from  her  body,  together 
with  a  sperm  or  male  half-life  from  the  pouch 
where  they  are  stowed  away.  The  two  half- 
lives  unite  and  form  an  embryo  bee  which  de- 
velops into  a  bee. 

The  queen  bee  lives  for  four  or  five  years, 
laying  hundreds  of  eggs  a  day  all  through 
the  long  summer  months,  beginning  when  the 
first  little  spring  flower  holds  up  its  head. 
We  are  told  that  she  lays  five  million  eggs 
during  her  life.  The  little  male  half-lives 
stored  away  in  her  pocket  last  during  all  this 
time,  so  she  never  takes  more  than  the  one 
mating  flight. 

The  worker  bees  store  up  plenty  of  honey 
and  bee-bread  to  last  their  large  family 
through  the  winter.  The  little  worker  bees 
do  not  have  long  lives,  some  of  them  living 
only  four  or  five  weeks,  but  all  this  time  they 
give  to  caring  for  the  young  bees  and  storing 
up  honey  for  the  winter  they  will  never  see. 
The  workers  who  have  been  born  late  live 
through  the  winter,  and  are  ready  in  the 
spring  to  start  life  in  the  hive. 
[50] 


ANIMAL    LIFE 

As  summer  is  ending  and  the  supply  of 
honey  grows  less,  the  worker  bees  set  upon  all 
of  the  drones,  either  biting  one  of  their  wings 
so  they  cannot  fly,  or  else  shutting  them  out 
of  the  hive  where  they  soon  perish  from 
hunger  and  cold.  They  do  this  as  a  matter 
of  economy,  so  that  these  lazy  fellows  will 
not  use  up  the  precious  food  at  a  time  when 
no  more  can  be  found.  But  the  queen  is 
kept  well  supplied  with  food.  If  for  any 
reason  it  should  grow  scarce,  the  last  drop 
will  be  saved  for  her. 

Is  not  instinct  a  wonderful  thing,  which 
not  only  keeps  thousands  of  bees  working  in 
perfect  harmony  and  order,  but  also  makes 
them  obey  the  law  of  life,  the  law  of  progress 
as  well;  which  makes  the  queen  leave  her  own 
hive,  so  as  to  get  a  strong  and  vigorous  drone 
from  some  other  hive  to  be  the  father  of  the 
future  bees;  and  which  makes  the  thousands 
of  worker  bees  care  for  and  protect  their 
queen,  that  she  may  do  her  work  well  while 
they  look  after  the  helpless  young  and  store 
up  food  that  they  may  have  what  they  need 
for  their  best  development ! 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

The  last  animal  I  shall  speak  of  is  one  we 
are  all  quite  familiar  with,  the  bird.  Just 
think  what  a  barren  place  this  world  would 
be  if  there  were  no  birds!  Even  in  the  city 
we  should  miss  the  little  sparrows;  while  the 
woods  and  fields  would  seem  desolate  with- 
out the  many  birds  that  make  their  homes  in 
them. 

The  bird  is  a  much  higher  animal  than 
either  the  fish  or  the  bee.  Through  long 
years  and  many,  many  generations,  it  has  been 
obeying  the  law  of  life;  gradually  growing 
more  and  more  perfect  and  gaining  new  ac- 
complishments, until  now,  in  some  respects, 
it  surpasses  all  other  animals.  A  bird  can 
fly  higher  and  much  farther  than  the  bee  or 
any  other  insect.  Many  animals  can  make 
some  sort  of  noise,  but  none  can  compare  for 
sweetness  with  the  song  of  the  bird.  I  am 
told  that  the  vocal  organs  of  even  the  finest 
singers  who  get  thousands  of  dollars  for  a 
single  night's  performance,  are  inferior  to 
those  of  the  birds.  Then,  too,  few  animals 
are  so  clever  in  building  homes  in  which  to 
bring  up  their  young. 

[52] 


ANIMAL    LIFE 

During  many,  many  centuries,  the  Bird  has 
been  obeying  the  law  of  life  and  progressing, 
until  it  has  gained  much  out  of  life;  far  more 
than  those  animals  that  have  progressed  only 
a  little  way,  or  than  those  kinds  of  animal  life 
that  have  not  progressed  at  all,  but  are  still 
little  formless  specks  floating  in  water,  shut 
off  from  all  that  is  good  and  beautiful  in  life 
beyond  a  mere  existence. 

As  you  know,  most  birds  leave  our  northern 
climate  when  the  weather  begins  to  grow  cold 
and  fly  south  for  the  winter.  But  early  in 
the  spring,  sometimes  even  before  the  snow 
is  quite  gone,  they  begin  to  come  back  again. 
After  that  there  is  a  constant  procession  of 
birds  flying  northward  until  the  middle  of 
June.  They  travel  in  companies  or  flocks,  as 
we  call  them,  the  same  as  the  fish.  Some 
birds  fly  very  high  and  travel  at  night  so  as  to 
get  away  from  their  enemies.  If  you  look  at 
the  moon  through  a  telescope  some  clear  night 
in  spring  or  the  early  summer,  very  likely  you 
will  be  able  to  see  a  constant  procession  of 
tiny  birds  passing  before  her  face. 

The  same  instinct  which  sent  the  salmon 
[53] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

up  the  river  drives  the  birds  northward,  and 
for  the  same  purpose.  They  are  coming 
home  to  the  place  where  they  were  born, 
where  the  weather  will  soon  be  warm  and  the 
food  plentiful,  in  order  that  they  may  build 
their  nests,  and  breed  and  rear  their  young. 

This  is  the  bird's  homing  flight,  for  they 
are  coming  north  to  start  a  new  home  and 
bring  up  a  family.  Usually  the  male  birds 
travel  ahead  of  the  female.  Many  of  these 
male  birds  have  a  special  gorgeous  costume 
of  bright  colours  which  they  put  on  in  the 
spring,  later  changing  to  a  more  modest  work- 
a-day  attire.  With  the  birds,  it  is  the  males 
that  dress  up  instead  of  the  females.  But 
then,  customs  in  the  bird  world  are  different 
from  ours.  Wherever  they  go  there  is  a 
regular  festival  of  song,  for  at  no  time  do 
the  birds  sing  so  much  or  so  sweetly  as  they 
do  in  the  spring  at  the  time  of  mating.  As 
in  the  salmon,  so  too  in  the  birds,  there  is  a 
great  fulness  of  life  and  spirit  at  the  time 
when  they  are  going  to  the  greatest  event  of 
their  lives;  that  of  producing  and  rearing  their 
young. 

[54] 


ANIMAL    LIFE 

After  the  homing  flight  comes  the  mating. 
This  is  a  most  interesting  procedure  and  I 
hope  you  will  all  watch  for  it  in  the  spring. 
If  you  cannot  go  to  the  country,  perhaps  you 
can  see  it  right  in  the  city.  I  have  watched 
two  sparrows  courting  on  top  of  a  brick  wall, 
the  best  place  they  could  find.  Sometimes  one, 
sometimes  two  male  birds  seek  out  a  little 
female  bird.  Then  they  flutter  about  and 
spread  their  feathers,  always  seeming  to  try 
to  show  off  their  special  marks  of  beauty. 
Sometimes  the  little  lady  sits  and  looks  on, 
but  often  she  flutters  back  in  reply,  and  they 
hop  around,  back  and  forth,  as  though  they 
were  going  through  some  sort  of  dance. 
Some  birds  have  regular  antics  that  they  go 
through  at  the  sight  of  a  possible  mate. 
Others  relieve  their  feelings  in  song.  The 
display  of  feathers  and  antics  and  song  ex- 
cite a  corresponding  feeling  in  the  little  bird 
that  is  being  courted.  If  there  is  more  than 
one  suitor,  she  naturally  turns  to  the  one  that 
is  best  able  to  call  out  a  responsive  feeling 
within  her  breast.  This  is  the  bird  with  the 
greatest  fulness  of  life,  shown  in  his  fine 
[55] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

feathers,  or  -in  his  singing,  or  in  his  curious 
dancing  and  hopping  about.  Thus  quite  un- 
consciously she  takes  the  best  bird  to  be  the 
father  of  her  young  ones,  and  so  obeys  the 
law  of  progress. 

As  soon  as  the  courtship  is  ended,  the  pair 
set  out  to  get  a  home.  After  finding  a  suita- 
ble place,  they  gather  the  material  and  begin 
to  build.  Sometimes  both  birds  work,  some- 
times the  husband  builds  the  outside  while  his 
wife  furnishes  it  to  suit  her  taste.  In  some 
families,  the  little  lady  does  all  her  own  work 
while  her  mate  sits  on  a  neighbouring  twig 
and  sings  to  her. 

Birds  lay  very  much  fewer  eggs  than  either 
the  fish  or  the  bee.  Most  birds  lay  not  more 
than  five  or  six  at  a  time,  while  some  of  the 
larger  birds  lay  even  a  smaller  number.  Since 
there  are  so  few,  naturally  much  greater  care 
must  be  taken  in  order  that  they  may  be  saved 
and  develop  into  birds. 

The   birds   have   organs   of   reproduction, 

too,  just  as  all  forms  of  life,  only  they  are 

more    highly   developed    than   those   of   the 

fish   or   the   bee.      Probably  you   have   seen 

[56] 


ANIMAL    LIFE 

this  organ  of  the  chicken  when  it  was  being 
cleaned.  If  so,  you  can  remember  the  cluster 
of  round  yellow  balls  of  different  sizes  in 
the  ovary.  Sometimes  you  may  even  have 
seen  a  fully  developed  egg  ready  to  be  laid. 
The  little  yellow  balls,  covered  only  with  a 
fine  soft  skin,  contain  the  female  half-lives. 
When  these  yellow  balls  which  are  the  yolk 
of  the  egg,  have  grown  to  a  certain  size,  they 
leave  the  ovary  and  move  down  a  long  tube 
where  they  are  surrounded  with  what  we  call 
the  white.  Finally  the  whole  is  covered  by  a 
substance  which  hardens  into  a  shell.  All  of 
these  materials  are  secreted  from  different 
parts  of  the  reproductive  organ  as  the  egg 
travels  along  on  its  way  to  be  laid.  Last  of 
all,  from  the  same  wonderful  organ,  is  se- 
creted the  colouring  matter;  in  the  cases  of 
those  birds  that  lay  coloured  or  speckled  eggs. 
When  the  egg  is  laid  in  the  nest,  it  is  pro- 
tected from  harm  by  the  hard  shell.  Inside 
this  shell  are  the  two  half-lives;  the  ovum  and 
the  sperm,  surrounded  with  food  material  of 
just  the  right  quantity  and  kind  to  develop 
into  a  new  little  bird  like  the  parents.  Then, 
[57] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

too,  there  is  always  some  air  inside  of  each 
egg.  You  can  prove  it  is  there,  and  just  the 
amount  of  it  too,  by  boiling  an  egg  hard. 
Then  the  air  is  all  forced  up  to  one  end, 
making  a  little  space  between  the  egg  and  the 
shell. 

While  the  eggs  in  the  ovary  are  still  small 
and  covered  only  with  a  soft  fine  skin,  instinct 
makes  the  father  bird  place  his  half-lives, 
floating  in  a  little  fiu.'d,  at  the  entrance  of  the 
female  reproductive  organ.  These  sperms 
are  very  active  and  soon  find  their  way  to  the 
place  where  the  yellow  balls  are  clustered  to- 
gether. A  tiny  sperm  pierces  each  yellow 
ball,  and  unites  with  the  ovum  that  is  inside; 
so  that  the  life  of  the  embryo  bird  has  begun 
before  the  egg  receives  the  outer  coating  of 
white  and  shell. 

After  the  eggs  are  laid  in  the  nest  that  has 
been  prepared  for  them,  they  must  be  kept 
warm  while  the  little  life  is  growing  and  de- 
veloping within.  Sometimes  the  mother  bird 
tends  to  this  alone,  sitting  constantly  on  the 
eggs.  Sometimes  the  father  shares  the  duty 
with  her;  but  if  he  does  not,  he  brings  her 
[58] 


ANIMAL    LIFE 

food  and  perhaps  sings  to  her  as  if  to  help 
pass  away  the  time. 

Instinct  prompts  the  little  mother  to  turn 
the  eggs  every  day  in  the  nest.  If  this  were 
not  done,  the  growing  embryo  would  stick 
close  to  one  end  of  the  shell,  and  not  be  able 
to  develop  perfectly.  Is  it  not  wonderful  that 
there  is  just  the  right  material  in  the  egg  to 
form  every  part  of  the  bird,  and  just  enough 
to  complete  the  work  with  none  left  over  or 
wasted ! 

When  the  baby  bird  is  fully  developed, 
instinct  causes  it  to  peck  a  hole  in  the  shell 
and  come  out.  Then  begins  the  busy  time 
for  the  parents.  The  mouths  are  always 
open,  and  the  hungry  little  ones  never  seem 
to  get  enough  to  eat.  Back  and  forth  fly  the 
parents  carrying  food.  It  is  said  that  some 
young  birds  eat  as  much  food  as  the  size  of 
their  bodies  in  a  single  day. 

Besides  feeding,  the  birds  must  protect 
their  young  from  harm.  Oftentimes  birds 
will  fight  off  intruders,  even  to  the  point  of 
losing  their  own  lives,  that  their  young 
may  be  saved.  Some  birds,  such  as  the 
[59] 


THE    THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

wild  ducks,  pretend  to  be  wounded  and  go 
limping  along  if  disturbed  when  they  have 
young  ones  with  them.  The  bird  does  this 
so  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  intruder 
away  from  its  brood  of  young  to  itself. 
When  it  has  succeeded  in  getting  the  one  who 
might  harm  its  young  away  from  the  place 
where  the  little  ones  are  hiding,  the  careful 
parent  will  drop  its  limping  gait,  and  after 
circling  around  for  a  few  moments,  go  back 
to  the  young  ones. 

When  the  little  birds  are  old  enough,  they 
must  be  taught  to  fly  and  seek  food  for  them- 
selves. The  birds  care  for  their  young  for 
a  longer  time  than  either  the  fish  or  the  bee. 
The  higher  we  go  in  the  scale  of  animal  life, 
the  fewer  young  are  born,  the  greater  care 
must  be  taken  of  them,  and  the  longer  time 
devoted  to  their  needs.  When  the  young 
birds  are  able  to  get  along  alone,  the  parents 
separate  and  go  their  own  way.  The  race 
instinct  does  not  show  itself  again  until  the 
right  time  comes  around  to  build  their  nests 
and  bring  up  a  new  family. 

All  animals  have  the  race  instinct.  It  is 
[60] 


ANIMAL    LIFE 

one  of  the  strongest  instincts  they  have  and 
one  of  the  most  perfect.  It  is  even  stronger 
than  the  instinct  for  self-preservation;  making 
the  most  gentle  and  timid  animals  fight  if 
their  young  are  disturbed,  giving  up  their  own 
lives  if  necessary,  in  their  endeavours  to  pro- 
tect their  young  and  shield  them  from  harm. 
It  is  the  race  instinct,  too,  that  makes  the 
males  of  many  animals  very  ready  to  fight 
each  other  during  the  mating  season.  The 
strong  and  fully  developed  males  drive  away 
those  that  are  inferior  or  still  too  young  to 
have  all  their  powers  at  their  best.  Thus 
instinct  often  causes  the  mating  of  the  best 
animals,  and  makes  towards  the  progress  of 
the  race  as  a  whole. 

In  those  animals  that  live  in  a  wild  state, 
and  have  not  been  influenced  by  contact  with 
human  beings,  this  instinct  has  become  very 
perfect,  appearing  only  at  certain  seasons  and 
then  going  away  until  the  proper  time  for  its 
reappearance.  Each  animal  has  its  mating 
season  when  the  race  instinct  makes  itself  felt. 
Nature  has  so  ordered  this  time  that  the 
young  will  be  born  when  the  food  they  need 
[61] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

will  be  most  plentiful  and  easily  obtained. 
Not  only  that,  but  instinct  makes  the  parents 
go  to  that  place  where  the  young  will  have 
the  best  opportunity  to  grow  and  develop. 
It  causes  many  fish  to  leave  their  home  in  the 
ocean  and  swim  hundreds  of  miles  up  rivers 
and  streams  to  deposit  their  eggs  in  shallow 
water,  where  they  are  least  likely  to  be  eaten 
or  washed  away.  It  sends  the  birds  north- 
ward in  the  spring  where  they  mate  and  rear 
their  young  just  as  summer  is  coming  and 
there  will  be  an  abundance  of  food. 

Will  you  not  agree  with  me  that  instinct 
is  a  very  wonderful  thing,  and  a  much  finer 
gift  than  dependence?  That  is  what  has 
made  animal  life  so  much  higher  than  plant 
life.  All  life  must  obey  the  law  and  keep 
progressing  in  one  way  or  another;  only  the 
different  forms  of  life  are  given  different  gifts. 
The  higher  the  life,  the  more  and  the  better 
gifts  it  is  given.  The  progress  of  every  life, 
whether  plant,  animal,  or  human,  depends 
upon  the  way  in  which  it  makes  use  of  the 
gifts  which  it  has  received. 

[62] 


CHAPTER    THREE 

HUMAN   LIFE 

WE  have  just  seen  what  a  great 
gift  instinct  is  to  the  animal,  and 
how,  through  instinct,  animals  have 
obeyed  the  law  of  life,  and  have  made  great 
progress. 

Now  we  come  to  the  life  story  of  the 
human  being.  We  too  must  obey  the  law  of 
life,  because  we  live,  and  everything  that 
lives  comes  under  the  law.  Plants  and  ani- 
mals don't  think  about  the  law,  they  just 
obey;  plants  by  their  interesting  ways  of 
getting  animals  to  help  them  out,  and  animals 
by  that  still  more  wonderful  thing,  instinct; 
that  impulse  within  themselves  which  urges 
them  on  to  do  the  things  which  make  for 
progress. 

I  am  sure  you  will  agree  with  me  that 
we  are  far  superior  to  animals;  more  so  even 
than  animals  are  to  plants.  Human  life  is 
the  highest  kind  of  life  that  has  ever  existed 
on  our  earth.  The  reason  for  this  lies  in  the 
[63] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

third  gift;  the  gift  that  has  been  given  to 
human  beings  alone.  This  gift  is  Choice. 
Human  beings  need  not  be  dependent  like 
plants,  nor  are  they  obliged  to  obey  an  in- 
stinct blindly,  as  animals  do,  but  they  are 
left  free  to  choose.  It  was  not  until  life  be- 
came very  high  that  it  was  given  freedom  to 
choose. 

Whenever  you  choose,  you  do  two 
things;  you  both  think,  and  use  your  will. 
That  is  what  is  meant  by  choosing.  You  must 
think  with  your  mind  whether  the  thing  is 
good  or  not,  and  you  must  make  an  effort  of 
your  will  before  you  can  do  a  thing  that  you 
have  thought  about;  or,  on  the  other  hand, 
keep  from  doing  it,  if  you  think  you  had  better 
not. 

You  can  see  at  once  how  choice  is  a  much 
finer  and  better  gift  than  instinct,  for  it  can 
rule  and  guide  the  instincts.  Human  beings 
have  been  given  instincts  too,  just  as  animals 
have.  It  is  instinct  that  makes  us  eat  when 
we  are  hungry,  and  drink  when  we  are  thirsty, 
and  get  out  of  the  way  of  things  that  might 
hurt  or  kill  us.  It  is  instinct  too,  that  makes 
[64] 


HUMAN    LIFE 

us  like  to  be  with  other  people.  The  great 
difference  between  human  beings  and  animals 
is,  that  animals  are  ruled  by  their  instincts; 
they  must  obey  them,  for  instinct  is  the  best 
gift  they  have.  But  human  beings  can  rule 
their  instincts.  Indeed,  what  is  more,  they 
must  rule  them  if  they  would  obey  the  law  of 
life  and  progress.  This  is  the  more  im- 
portant because  in  human  beings,  instinct  is 
not  so  trustworthy,  and  cannot  be  depended 
upon  as  it  can  in  the  animals.  In  human  be- 
ings, instinct  must  be  governed  by  choice. 

Those  kinds  of  life  which  have  more  than 
one  gift  must  use  the  best  gift,  the  last  one 
given,  in  order  to  progress. 

Animal  life  has  two  gifts;  dependence  and 
instinct.  It  is  only  those  animals  that  have 
made  use  of  instinct  that  have  progressed ;  and 
the  more  they  have  used  their  instinct,  the 
farther  they  have  progressed.  Those  forms 
of  animal  life  that  have  little  or  no  instinct, 
but  are  just  dependent  like  the  plants,  have 
made  no  progress  at  all,  and  are  still  tiny, 
formless  specks  floating  in  water. 

Human  beings  have  three  gifts;  depend- 
[65] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS    OF     LIFE 

ence,  instinct  and  choice.  A  few  people  try 
to  get  along  with  the  simplest  gift  of  all,  and 
are  dependent  upon  others  for  everything. 
Some  people  are  so  easily  influenced  that  they 
are  never  able  to  decide  anything  for  them- 
selves; but  depend  on  anyone  they  happen  to 
be  with  to  choose  for  them.  We  call  such 
people  weak;  they  never  amount  to  anything, 
and  often  do  much  harm  if  they  happen  to  be 
thrown  with  bad  companions. 

But  there  is  a  much  larger  class  who  use 
the  second  gift,  instinct,  to  guide  their  lives. 
They  do  whatever  their  feelings  urge  them 
to  do,  without  using  their  reason  to  find  out 
if  it  is  good  or  not,  or  their  wills  to  govern 
their  actions.  Some  people  get  angry  very 
easily,  and  often  get  into  trouble  because  they 
have  never  learned  to  control  themselves. 
Others  like  a  good  time  and  dislike  to  work, 
therefore  they  don't  work,  and  become  either 
loafers  or  thieves.  Still  others  yield  to  many 
other  feelings  and  passions,  with  never  a 
thought  of  controlling  or  guiding  them;  until 
after  a  while  they  have  formed  a  habit,  so 
strong  that  it  is  very  hard  to  break.  These 
[66] 


HUMAN    LIFE 

people  do  not  rule  their  lives  by  choice;  on 
the  contrary,  they  allow  their  instincts  to  rule 
them.  Such  people  do  not  progress,  but 
rather  go  backward,  so  that  they  miss  what  is 
best  in  life. 

Progress  in  human  life  depends  upon  the 
way  in  which  the  third  gift,  choice,  is  used. 
Some  people  learn  to  use  their  minds  more 
than  others;  they  like  to  study  and  use  their 
reason.  Others  cultivate  their  wills,  and  are 
able  to  control  their  feelings  and  guide  their 
actions.  It  is  of  very  little  use  to  be  ever  so 
learned  and  know  the  best  things,  unless 
you  use  your  will  and  do  what  you  know 
to  be  good.  On  the  other  hand,  a  strong  will 
power  may  do  positive  harm  unless  it  is 
guided  by  reason.  Progress  in  human  life 
is  dependent  upon  the  way  both  the  reason 
and  the  will  are  used;  in  other  words,  upon 
the  kind  of  choices  that  are  made. 

As  the  plants  have  only  one  gift,  so  they 
have  only  one  side  to  their  natures,  the  phys- 
ical, or  the  side  of  their  material  bodies.  Ani- 
mals have  two  gifts,  and  animal  nature  has 
two  sides;  the  physical  and  the  intellectual. 
[67] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

Animals  have  a  new  quality  called  intelligence, 
which  is  not  present  in  plant  life.  Some  ani- 
mals have  much  more  intelligence  than  others. 
It  is  those  animals  that  have  used  their  in- 
stincts the  best  that  have  the  most  intelligence; 
for  an  animal's  intelligence  is  measured  by 
its  instinct  but  never  goes  beyond  it.  In  other 
words,  an  animal  never  reasons  anything  out 
or  makes  a  definite  choice  apart  from  its  in- 
stinct. That  would  be  using  the  human  be- 
ing's gift,  choice,  and  that  has  never  been 
given  to  any  lower  animal.  It  is  by  means  of 
the  second  gift,  instinct,  that  animal  life  has 
made  such  progress  in  intelligence. 

But  human  beings  have  been  given  three 
gifts,  and  also  three  sides  to  their  natures. 
Human  beings  have  a  physical  side  like  the 
plants,  an  intellectual  side  like  the  animals, 
and  a  spiritual  side  which  is  theirs  alone. 
Not  only  that,  but  the  human  being's  body  is 
higher  and  more  wonderful  than  the  bodies  of 
either  the  plants  or  the  animals.  A  human 
being's  intelligence  is  far  superior  to  the  in- 
telligence of  any  animal,  because  it  is  free  and 
is  not  limited  by  instinct,  as  an  animal's  intel- 
[68] 


HUMAN    LIFE 

ligence  is.  But  finest  of  all  is  the  spiritual 
side  of  the  human  being,  or  the  side  of  char- 
acter. It  is  important  that  human  beings 
should  progress  on  all  three  sides,  but  most 
important  of  all  is  that  they  should  grow 
finer  and  better  in  their  characters;  for  it  is  on 
this  side  that  choice  can  do  its  finest  work. 

Just  think  for  a  minute  and  see  if  you  don't 
agree  with  me.  If  you  are  going  to  choose 
a  friend,  wouldn't  you  rather  have  a  girl  with 
a  sweet,  loving,  unselfish  nature,  even  if  she 
were  homely,  and  perhaps  lame,  and  not  very 
well  educated,  than  you  would  a  pretty,  stylish 
one,  who  was  also  bright  and  clever,  and  yet 
was  mean  and  disagreeable  and  selfish? 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  noted  for  being  a  very 
homely  man,  but  he  was  far  more  noted  for 
always  speaking  the  exact  truth  and  for  hav- 
ing a  most  tender-hearted  and  loving  disposi- 
tion. That  is  why  the  people  loved  him  so; 
because  he  had  grown  so  beautiful  in  his 
character. 

Everyone  agrees  that  human  beings  have 
made  great  progress  in  knowledge.      People 
living  now  know  much  more  than  those  did 
[69] 


THE    THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

who  lived  a  few  thousand  or  even  a  hundred 
years  ago.  We  would  never  think  of  making 
long  journeys  on  camels  or  horses  when  we 
can  go  by  train  or  automobile,  excusing  our- 
selves by  saying,  "  That  is  the  way  they  used 
to  do  it;  therefore  it  must  be  the  best  way." 
It  was  the  best  way  then,  but  there  are  better 
ways  now. 

The  same  thing  is  true  on  the  side  of  char- 
acter. People  used  to  do  things  which  at  one 
time  were  thought  good,  and  which  were  the 
best  that  was  known  at  that  time;  but  which 
we  have  learned  by  experience,  would  not 
make  for  growth  in  character  if  done  now; 
and  yet  we  continually  hear  people  excusing 
themselves  for  things  they  do  by  saying, 
"  People  have  always  done  that  way;  there- 
fore it  must  be  all  right."  In  order  to  get 
the  most  out  of  life,  human  beings  must  show 
progress  in  their  actions,  as  well  as  in  their 
reason. 

The  proper  use  of  choice,  so  that  it  will  do 

good  and  not  harm,  requires  two  things :  first, 

understanding  of  what  is  right,  and  second, 

determination,  or  will,  to  do  the  right.     The 

[70] 


HUMAN    LIFE 

first  is  acquired  through  the  intellectual  side 
of  the  human  being,  and  the  second  through 
the  spiritual.  The  understanding  of  what  is 
right  depends  largely  upon  others.  We  all 
have  to  be  taught  in  order  that  we  may  know. 
But  the  will  to  do  the  right  depends  entirely 
upon  each  individual  person. 

Many  people  do  what  is  wrong  and  dis- 
obey the  law  of  life  through  ignorance.  They 
feel  an  instinct  or  strong  desire  to  do  some 
particular  thing;  therefore  they  do  it  with- 
out ever  thinking,  or  perhaps  knowing,  that 
it  will  do  harm,  or  that  they  have  power  to 
control  it  by  their  gift,  choice. 

Human  beings  have  many  different  in- 
stincts ;  but  one  of  the  most  important,  and 
at  the  same  time  least  understood,  is  the 
reproductive  instinct.  Many  people  have 
brought  much  harm  and  trouble  to  them- 
selves and  to  others  because  they  have  felt 
this  instinct  and  have  allowed  it  to  rule  them. 
They  did  not  understand  it,  nor  how  it  could 
be  guided  and  controlled  by  their  reason  and 
their  will. 

I  am  going  to  tell  you  about  the  repro- 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

ductive  instinct  in  human  beings,  and  about 
the  organs  that  have  been  given  to  them  for 
the  renewal  of  life.  I  want  you  to  under- 
stand the  subject  thoroughly  in  order  that  you 
may  know  how  to  choose  in  a  way  that  will 
bring  great  good  and  blessing  both  to  your- 
self and  to  those  around  you.  Then  when 
you  do  know,  I  believe  you  will  use  your  will 
and  choose  the  best,  so  that  you  will  grow 
strong  and  beautiful  in  character. 

Just  the  same  as  in  the  flowers  and  the 
animals  we  have  been  learning  about,  so  too 
within  the  body  of  every  baby  that  is  born 
into  the  world  are  tiny  half-lives.  These 
half-lives  have  the  same  names  as  the  half- 
lives  of  the  flowers  and  the  bees  and  the  birds. 
The  male  half-lives  are  called  sperms,  and  the 
female  half-lives  are  called  ova.  The  life  of 
the  human  being  begins  just  the  same  as  the 
life  of  the  plant  and  the  life  of  the  animal; 
by  means  of  the  coming  together  of  the  two 
half-lives. 

The  higher  we  go  in  animal  life,  the  fewer 
young  are  born,  and  the  greater  care  and  pro- 
tection are  needed  so  that  they  may  live  and 
[72] 


HUMAN    LIFE 

grow  up  like  their  parents.  We  saw  how  the 
tiny  life  of  the  bird  wac  tucked  away  inside 
the  shell  and  surrounded  by  just  the  right 
material  to  develop  into  a  baby  bird.  We 
also  saw  how  it  was  necessary  for  the  two 
half-lives  to  come  together  before  the  hard 
shell  formed.  As  human  life  is  much  higher 
and  more  important  than  the  life  of  the  birds, 
and  fewer  young  are  born,  so  they  need  still 
greater  care  in  order  that  they  may  live. 
Therefore  human  life  must  have  better  pro- 
tection than  that  of  the  bird  during  the  process 
of  development,  before  it  is  exposed  to  dan- 
ger. So  the  little  human  baby  grows  and 
develops  in  a  very  wonderful  nest,  safe  and 
warm  inside  the  body  of  the  mother.  This  is 
the  case  also  with  the  higher  animals,  such 
as  the  dog,  the  cat,  the  horse,  and  the  cow. 

Of  all  the  wonderful  organs  of  the  human 
body,  the  reproductive  organs,  or  those  that 
have  to  do  with  the  reproduction  and  develop- 
ment of  the  new  little  life  are,  in  some  re- 
spects, the  most  wonderful.  These  organs 
in  a  girl  are  sometimes  called  the  maternal 
organs,  because  by  means  of  them  she  is  able 
[73] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

to  become  a  mother.  Every  girl  should  un- 
derstand about  her  maternal  crgans  in  order 
that  she  may  give  them  the  proper  care  and 
attention. 

On  each  side,  low  down  within  the  abdomi- 
nal cavity,  is  a  small  oblong  body  much  the 
shape  and  size  of  an  almond.  These  are 
called  ovaries,  for  they  contain  the  ova 
or  eggs,  or,  as  I  like  to  call  them,  the  female 
half-lives.  The  ova  stay  quietly  asleep  in 
the  ovaries  all  the  time  while  a  girl  is  growing 
from  a  baby  to  a  child,  and  from  a  child  into 
a  little  woman.  While  here,  they  are  kept 
alive  by  the  blood  of  the  girl  with  whom 
they  live.  The  life  of  the  girl  helps  to  de- 
termine what  their  future  lives  will  be.  If 
she  is  strong,  and  healthy,  and  true,  she  will  be 
glad  to  have  them  take  after  her;  but  if  she 
is  sickly,  or  does  anything  to  harm  her  body, 
the  poor  little  half-lives  may  have  a  sad  start 
in  the  world. 

The  ovaries  are  connected  by  two  narrow 
tubes  with  the  womb,  or  uterus,  which  is  lo- 
cated low  down  in  the  center  of  the  abdomen. 
In  speaking  of  this  organ,  sometimes  the  word 
[74] 


HUMAN    LIFE 

womb  is  used,  and  sometimes  uterus,  so  it  is 
well  to  know  both.  The  uterus  is  a  some- 
what pear-shaped  organ  about  two  and  a  half 
inches  long,  set  with  the  large  end  up.  Only 
instead  of  being  perfectly  round,  it  is  flattened 
from  front  to  back.  It  has  a  small  opening 
in  the  middle.  The  two  small  tubes  that  con- 
nect with  the  ovaries  lead  from  the  top  of 
the  uterus;  one  from  each  side.  Leading 
from  the  lower  end  of  the  uterus  is  a  large 
tube  or  passage-way  called  the  vagina  which 
opens  on  the  outside  in  the  center  of  the 
body,  between  the  opening  of  the  bladder  in 
front,  and  the  opening  of  the  rectum  behind. 
The  whole  is  lined  with  what  is  called  mucous 
membrane  like  the  lining  of  the  mouth. 

Now  that  you  have  an  idea  what  it  is  like, 
let's  go  back  and  see  what  this  wonderful 
organ  can  do.  It  is  really  more  marvellous 
than  a  fairy  tale.  The  half-lives  live  in 
the  two  ovaries  just  the  same  as  they  do  in 
the  flowers.  Here  they  stay  quietly  asleep 
until  a  girl  begins  to  change  to  a  woman; 
then  once  in  every  four  weeks,  one,  or  oc- 
casionally more,  of  the  liny  eggs  travels 
[75] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

down  the  tube  to  the  womb.  They  are  then 
1/125  of  an  inch  across;  so  small  indeed,  that 
the  aid  of  a  microscope  is  necessary  in  order 
to  see  them.  Usually  these  little  half-lives 
are  lost;  but  if  one  meets  the  sperm,  or  male 
half-life,  before  leaving  the  womb,  and  unites 
with  it,  from  that  moment  the  baby  begins 
its  life.  Now  you  might  think  a  fairy  must 
be  around,  such  wonderful  things  begin  to 
happen.  When  the  tiny  half-life  meets  the 
other  half-life  and  the  life  of  the  baby  begins, 
the  womb  is  only  about  two  and  a  half  inches 
long  on  the  outside,  but  very,  very  much 
smaller  on  the  inside,  because  it  has  thick 
walls.  But  as  soon  as  the  baby  begins  to 
grow,  the  womb  begins  to  grow  too,  growing 
just  as  fast  as  necessary  so  the  little  thing  will 
have  plenty  of  room. 

When  the  two  half-lives  come  together, 
they  form  a  tiny  round  cell ;  still  so  small  you 
must  use  your  microscope  in  order  to  see  it. 
This  cell  divides  into  two  cells,  and  then  into 
four,  and  so  on,  growing  all  the  time,  until  be- 
fore long,  there  is  a  whole  mass  of  little  round 
cells  lying  close  together.  After  a  while  this 
[76] 


HUMAN    LIFE 

mass  of  cells  stretches  out  and  grows  longer 
until  it  gradually  takes  on  the  human  form. 

The  baby  is  dependent  on  its  mother  for 
everything  while  it  is  growing  and  develop- 
ing in  its  wonderful  nest.  When  it  starts 
life,  it  clings  to  one  side  of  the  womb.  The 
lining  of  the  womb  swells  up  about  the  little 
helpless  thing.  Before  long  the  embryo  is 
surrounded  with  a  soft,  protecting  membrane 
like  a  blanket;  a  most  wonderful  blanket.  It 
not  only  grows  the  same  as  the  baby  life 
grows,  and  the  womb  grows,  but  it  is  filled 
with  blood  vessels  which  take  the  material 
that  is  needed  from  the  mother's  blood 
straight  to  the  helpless  little  life.  From 
the  mother's  blood  the  baby  obtains  every- 
thing that  is  needed  to  make  muscles  and 
bone  and  skin  and  organs..  Not  only  that, 
but  there  is  formed  about  the  embryo  a  sort 
of  bag  filled  with  water  which  acts  as  a  cushion 
to  protect  the  tender,  helpless  little  thing  from 
injury. 

When  the  embryo  is  three  months  old,  it  is 
still  very  tiny,  but  it  begins  to  look  like  a  hu- 
man being.  About  four  and  a  half  months 
[77] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

after  the  baby  has  started  life,  it  is  able  to 
move  and  stretch  a  little.  Then  the  mother 
is  said  to  feel  life,  although,  of  course,  life 
has  been  there  from  the  very  beginning.  Af- 
ter it  has  lain  for  nine  months  close  to  its 
mother's  heart,  the  baby  is  fully  developed  and 
is  ready  to  begin  life  in  the  outer  world.  The 
position  of  the  baby  at  this  time  is  with  its 
head  downward,  at  the  entrance  to  the  pass- 
age-way, its  little  arms  folded  across  its  breast, 
and  its  legs  drawn  up  against  its  body. 

When  it  is  time  for  the  baby  to  be  born, 
the  passage-way  leading  to  the  outside 
stretches  and  stretches,  which  it  can  very  well 
do,  for  it  is  not  made  of  smooth  skin,  but  of 
soft  folds  which  can  be  spread  out.  The 
muscles  of  the  mother's  womb  draw  together. 
They  are  very  strong  and  force  the  infant 
downward.  After  several  hours'  labour,  it 
comes  out  head  first  through  the  vagina,  or 
as  we  say,  is  born.  It  is  still  fastened  to  the 
mother  by  a  long  tube  or  cord  which  is  at- 
tached at  one  end  to  the  navel  of  the  child, 
and  at  the  other  to  the  blanket  still  in  the 
mother's  womb.  It  is  through  this  hollow 
[78] 


HUMAN    LIFE 

cord  that  the  blood  has  flowed  from  the 
blanket  to  the  growing  embryo.  Soon  after 
the  baby  has  begun  to  breathe  and  cry,  the 
doctor  or  nurse  cuts  the  cord  from  one  to  two 
inches  from  the  body  of  the  infant,  first  tying 
it  with  a  piece  of  fine  tape  so  it  won't  bleed. 
Then  the  baby  begins  life  in  the  outer 
world. 

Now  the  baby  is  oiled  all  over  its  body, 
wrapped  in  a  soft  warm  blanket  that  has  been 
prepared  for  it,  and  laid  one  side  in  a  warm 
place  to  rest  while  the  doctor  tends  to  the 
mother.  It  used  to  be  the  custom  to  bathe 
and  dress  the  baby  as  soon  as  it  was  born,  but 
doctors  now  see  that  since  the  baby  has  had  a 
hard  time  coming  into  the  world,  it  is  better 
to  allow  it  to  rest  a  few  hours  before  disturb- 
ing it  any  more. 

About  twenty  minutes  or  half  an  hour  after 
the  baby  is  born,  the  muscles  of  the  womb 
again  pull  strongly  together  and  force  out  the 
blanket,  or  after-birth,  as  it  is  now  called. 
The  doctor  always  stays  until  this  has  come. 
It  is  very  necessary  that  it  should  be  com- 
pletely removed;  for  it  is  no  longer  of  any 
[79] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

use,  and  if  left  in  the  body,  would  cause  great 
inflammation  and  trouble. 

The  mother  is  now  bound  up  snugly.  She 
is  given  something  warm  to  drink,  and  made 
to  rest  quietly.  The  womb  has  grown  very 
large  and  extended  beyond  its  regular  place  in 
order  to  hold  a  baby  floating  in  a  bag  of  water 
all  wrapped  in  a  blanket.  A  woman  should 
stay  in  bed  at  least  two  weeks,  and  then  move 
about  quietly  for  a  few  weeks  longer,  in  order 
to  give  this  organ  an  opportunity  to  go  back 
into  place. 

After  the  baby  is  born,  it  seems  as  if  the 
fairy  must  be  around  again,  for  now  the  womb 
begins  to  shrink.  It  becomes  smaller  and 
smaller,  until  after  a  few  months,  it  is  only 
slightly  larger  than  it  was  before  the  baby's 
life  began. 

Just  here  I  want  to  remind  you  of  some- 
thing that  many  people  do  not  seem  to  realize, 
and  that  is  that  the  little  baby  begins  its  life 
when  the  two  half-lives  come  together,  and 
from  that  moment  its  life  is  sacred.  It  should 
be  protected  and  shielded  from  harm  just  as 
carefully  as  it  is  after  it  is  born  and  living  in 
[80] 


HUMAN    LIFE 

the  outer  world.  It  is  wrong  to  do  any- 
thing to  injure  or  deprive  a  baby  of  its  life 
while  it  is  still  in  its  mother's  womb,  just  the 
same  as  it  is  after  the  child  is  born.  Re- 
member human  life  is  sacred,  always,  no  mat- 
ter at  what  stage  of  development  it  may  be, 
and  should  be  given  every  chance  to  live  and 
obtain  what  it  needs  for  its  growth. 

A  human  baby  is  very  helpless  and  depend- 
ent; far  more  so  than  babies  of  any  of  the 
animals,  and  for  a  much  longer  time.  Little 
chicks  begin  to  pick  up  food  soon  after  they 
come  out  of  the  shell,  and  I  have  seen  a  baby 
calf  walk  about  before  it  was  a  day  old;  but 
human  babies  must  be  cared  for  for  a  long 
time.  As  you  know,  food  of  the  right 
kind,  pure  and  warm,  of  the  proper  strength, 
and  of  the  quantity  it  needs,  is  supplied  for 
the  infant  in  the  breasts  of  the  mother.  As 
the  baby  grows  bigger  and  stronger,  the  milk 
is  suited  to  its  needs,  becoming  richer  and 
more  plentiful.  When  the  baby  is  about  nine 
months  old,  he  should  be  given  a  little  weak 
cow's  milk  every  day;  for  soon  his  mother's 
milk  will  grow  less.  Gradually  the  amount 
[81] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

of  cow's  milk  should  be  increased,  until  by 
the  time  he  is  a  year  old,  he  should  be  weaned 
from  the  mother  altogether. 

There  are  two  reasons  why  every  mother 
should  nurse  her  own  baby  if  it  is  possible. 
In  the  first  place,  the  human  milk  is  just  suited 
to  a  baby's  need  and  can  never  be  equalled 
by  any  other  food.  A  cow's  milk  is  intended 
for  a  calf  and  not  for  a  little  baby,  so  it  must 
have  water  and  other  things  added  to  it  be- 
fore it  can  be  given  to  an  infant.  Sometimes 
it  is  very  hard  to  find  a  food  that  will  just  suit 
a  baby.  Even  when  that  is  done,  the  milk  may 
get  sour,  or  chilled,  or  have  germs  in  it,  thus 
causing  the  baby  to  become  sick.  It  is  much 
harder  to  raise  a  baby  on  the  bottle  than  it  is 
on  the  breast.  Doctors  have  found  that  many 
more  babies  die  among  those  brought  up  on 
the  bottle  than  among  those  that  are  nursed. 

The  second  reason  why  a  mother  should 
want  to  nurse  her  own  baby  is  that  this  act 
unites  the  two  more  closely  in  love.  A  little 
helpless  baby,  depending  on  her  for  its  very 
life,  draws  out  a  mother's  love  towards  the 
child,  and  the  love  of  the  baby  for  its  mother, 
[82] 


HUMAN    LIFE 

in  a  stronger,  deeper  way  than  is  produced 
by  raising  a  child  on  a  bottle;  for  this  can  be 
done  by  another  as  well  as  by  the  mother. 

Now  that  I  have  told  about  the  way  in 
which  the  baby  begins  life,  I  want  to  talk  some 
more  about  the  wonderful  organs  where  the 
half-lives  live,  and  the  organ  where  the  baby 
stays  while  it  is  developing  into  a  perfect 
form. 

After  the  little  baby  has  been  in  the  moth- 
er's womb  for  nine  months,  it  is  perfectly 
formed  and  ready  to  begin  life  in  the  outer 
world.  Its  heart  beats,  its  lungs  draw  the 
breath  in  and  out,  and  its  stomach  digests  the 
milk.  All  the  organs  are  ready  to  work  ex- 
cept the  reproductive  organs,  which  exist  for 
the  purpose  of  reproducing  life.  These  or- 
gans are  in  some  ways  the  most  remarkable 
organs  of  the  body.  All  of  the  other  organs 
work  right  along  from  birth  to  death,  but 
these  organs  do  their  work  in  the  best  years  of 
life;  for  in  childhood,  and  again  when  past 
middle  age,  they  remain  quiet  and  rest.  What 
is  still  more  remarkable,  if  they  are  in  a 
healthy  state,  they  are  ready  to  do  their  work 
[83] 


THE    THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

whenever  they  are  called  upon,  and  if  not 
used,  they  keep  perfectly  healthy  and  do  not 
lose  any  of  their  powers. 

But  before  children  have  begun  to  grow 
into  men  and  women,  the  reproductive  or- 
gans are  small  and  undeveloped,  and  the  half- 
lives  within  them  are  still  asleep.  They  stay 
this  way  until  the  girl  is  about  twelve  or  four- 
teen years  of  age,  and  the  boy  thirteen  to  six- 
teen; then  they  begin  to  grow  and  develop. 
The  boy's  voice  gets  deeper,  and  the  girl's 
breasts  begin  to  increase  in  size.  Strange  to 
say,  the  boys  and  girls  change  very  much  in 
nature  just  at  this  time.  They  lose  interest 
in  childish  things  and  begin  to  feel  more 
grown  up.  A  boy  is  very  much  afraid  of  be- 
ing babied;  he  wants  to  appear  manly,  while 
a  girl  lays  aside  her  dolls,  and  thinks  much 
more  about  her  personal  appearance  than  she 
ever  did  before.  It  is  at  this  time  that  once 
in  every  four  weeks  a  tiny  half-life  leaves  the 
ovary  and  travels  down  the  tube  to  the  womb. 
The  womb  is  always  prepared  to  receive  its 
guest.  That  it  may  not  suffer  want,  it  has 
stored  up  blood  ready  to  feed  the  tiny  help- 
[84] 


HUMAN     LIFE 

less  thing.  If  the  half-life  is  lost,  the  blood 
waiting  in  readiness  for  it  has  become  use- 
less; so  the  womb  throws  it  off,  and  it  passes 
down  through  the  passage-way.  Then  we 
say  the  girl  menstruates,  or  has  her  monthly 
flow.  This  lasts  from  three  to  five  days,  af- 
ter which  the  womb  is  quite  empty.  Then  it 
begins  all  over  again,  filling  its  walls  with 
fresh  blood,  so  as  to  be  in  readiness  when  the 
next  half-life  stops  a  few  days  on  its  way. 

Many  people  think  that  this  blood  is  im- 
pure, but  that  is  an  entirely  mistaken  idea. 
It  is  perfectly  pure  blood  collected  for  the 
purpose  of  nourishing  and  building  up  the 
new  little  life.  If  not  needed  for  that  pur- 
pose, it  is  thrown  off,  together  with  the  lining 
membrane  of  the  womb;  so  that  each  month 
there  may  be  a  fresh  supply  of  blood,  and  a 
new  soft  lining  to  the  nest,  in  case  it  should 
be  needed. 

Most  women  do  not  menstruate  at  all  while 
the  little  life  is  developing  within  the  womb, 
neither  do  they  menstruate  while  they  are 
nursing  the  baby.  The  blood,  which  at  other 
times  is  not  needed,  at  these  times  is  used 
[85] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

either  directly  to  nourish  the  little  life  before 
it  has  come  into  the  outer  world,  or  it  goes 
to  make  milk  to  feed  the  helpless  infant  while 
it  is  still  too  young  to  eat. 

A  girl  should  always  be  especially  careful 
of  her  maternal  organs,  even  more  so  than 
she  is  of  her  other  organs.  Young  people  are 
often  told  not  to  strain  their  eyes,  and  not  to 
eat  things  that  will  upset  their  stomachs. 
That  is  very  true,  but  if  they  do  not  obey,  they 
are  the  ones  that  have  to  suffer.  But  if  a  girl 
does  not  care  for  her  maternal  organs  as  she 
should,  not  only  will  she  suffer,  but  she  can 
never  tell  what  harm  she  is  storing  up  for  the 
little  children  who  may  some  day  come  to 
her. 

There  are  two  ways  in  which  you  should 
protect  your  maternal  organs  all  the  time. 
One  is  to  give  them  plenty  of  room,  and  not 
squeeze  them  out  of  place  with  tight  clothing. 
The  other  way  you  should  protect  them  is  to 
think  of  them  always  as  the  most  sacred  part 
of  your  body,  to  be  shielded,  and  guarded, 
and  never  touched  in  any  way  except  for  pur- 
poses of  cleanliness. 

[86] 


HUMAN    LIFE 

There  are  two  times  when  they  need  special 
care.  One  is  when  there  is  growing  within 
the  new  little  life.  Then  she  who  is  to  be- 
come a  mother  should  eat  plenty  of  nourish- 
ing food,  and  breathe  fresh  air,  and  be  care- 
ful not  to  get  fatigued,  so  that  her  little  one 
may  get  good  rich  blood  to  build  with  and 
grow  strong  in  body.  Also  she  should  try  to 
keep  her  thoughts  pure  and  sweet  and  happy, 
so  that  her  child  may  have  every  chance  she 
can  give  it  to  start  well  in  life.  An  expect- 
ant mother  should  keep  constantly  in  mind 
that  it  is  upon  her  life-blood  that  the  little 
helpless  embryo  is  dependent;  and  whatever 
affects  her  blood  for  good  or  for  harm  is 
going  to  have  its  effect  upon  her  unborn  child. 

The  other  time  when  the  maternal  organs 
need  special  care  is  during  menstruation;  when 
the  blood  that  is  no  longer  needed  is  being 
thrown  off.  Although  a  girl  should  feel  no 
differently  at  this  time  than  at  any  other,  as 
a  matter  of  fact,  many  girls  suffer  pain  or  feel 
miserable  in  other  ways.  If  possible,  walk 
less  and  rest  more.  Always  be  sure  to  keep 
your  feet  warm  and  dry.  Be  careful  not  to 
[87] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

get  wet  or  catch  cold;  otherwise  the  flow  may 
stop  and  cause  injury  to  the  organ.  A  girl 
should  never  go  in  bathing  or  use  cold  water 
on  her  body  at  this  time;  for  as  you  know, 
cold  water  stops  the  flow  of  blood.  But 
warm  water  and  soap  should  be  used  at  least 
once  a  day  during  the  time  of  the  menstrual 
flow  for  the  purpose  of  cleansing  the  entrance 
to  the  organs.  This  is  of  benefit  to  the  health 
as  well  as  being  quite  necessary  to  comfort. 

It  is  important  to  keep  the  bowels  well 
emptied  at  all  times,  but  particularly  so  just 
before  and  during  the  period  of  menstruation. 
Often  pain  is  caused  by  the  lower  bowel  be- 
ing packed  and  pressed  against  the  womb  at 
this  time  when  it  is  in  a  sensitive  state. 

Violent  exercise  should  never  be  taken 
either,  during  the  menstrual  period.  Very 
often  girls  do  things  that  they  know  are  wrong 
and  excuse  themselves  by  saying  it  never  hurts 
them.  Perhaps  it  does  not  show  any  harmful 
effects  at  the  time,  but  only  too  often  a  girl 
has  had  to  pay  for  her  rashness  later  on, 
either  in  suffering  to  herself,  or  in  the 
difficulties  she  meets  when  she  is  about  to  be- 
[88] 


HUMAN    LIFE 

come  a  mother.  A  girl  who  takes  care  of 
herself  at  the  time  of  her  monthly  flow  is 
much  more  likely  to  be  well  and  keep  well 
when  she  becomes  a  mother  than  one  who  is 
rash  or  foolish. 

If  you  will  always  remember  the  reason  for 
the  menstrual  flow,  I  think  you  will  not  con- 
sider it  such  a  nuisance,  but  will  try  to  care 
for  yourself  as  you  should  at  that  time.  You 
will  not  do  anything  which  might  injure  the 
delicate  organs,  and  bring  trouble  not  only  on 
yourself,  but  also  on  the  little  lives  which 
may  some  day  grow  and  develop  within  their 
shelter. 

While  the  baby  is  still  in  its  mother's  womb, 
and  for  a  long  time  after  it  is  born,  it  is  very 
dependent  on  her  for  its  food  and  care.  The 
human  baby  is  more  dependent  than  the  young 
of  any  animal,  for  an  infant  cannot  do  for 
itself  at  all,  and  will  very  soon  die  unless  the 
mother  or  someone  else  tends  to  its  wants. 
That  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  mothers  love 
their  little  babies  so;  because  they  are  so  help- 
less and  dependent  on  them. 

As  soon  as  the  baby  leaves  its  mother's 
[89] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

womb  and  comes  into  the  outer  world,  it  re- 
ceives the  second  gift,  instinct.  It  is  instinct 
that  teaches  the  baby  how  to  suck,  and  makes 
it  cry  when  it  is  hungry,  or  in  pain,  and  causes 
it  to  move  its  arms  and  legs  about.  Later  on, 
instinct  prompts  it  to  walk,  and  to  do  other 
things  characteristic  of  its  kind. 

It  is  not  until  the  baby  is  able  to  under- 
stand that  he  is  given  the  finest  gift  of  all, 
choice.  It  takes  much  time  and  training  for 
the  child  to  learn  to  use  his  third  and  best 
gift.  In  fact,  all  life  is  an  opportunity  for 
the  use  of  this  great  gift,  choice. 

In  order  to  prove  that  human  life  was  in- 
tended to  be  governed  by  the  reason  and  the 
will  instead  of  by  instinct,  just  think  for  a 
minute  how  much  more  perfect  an  animal's 
instinct  is  than  a  baby's,  and  how  instinct  pro- 
tects the  animal  from  harm,  but  does  not  pro- 
tect the  baby.  If  you  have  an  open  fire  in 
a  room,  you  must  watch  a  young  child  that  is 
just  learning  to  creep  or  walk;  for  if  you 
don't,  he  will  be  attracted  by  its  brightness 
and  may  go  so  close  as  to  get  burned;  whereas 
a  kitten  or  a  puppy  will  sniff  and  keep  at  a 
[90] 


HUMAN    LIFE 

safe  distance.  A  baby,  too,  has  to  be 
watched  that  he  does  not  tumble  down  the 
stairs,  or  climb  onto  a  chair  near  a  window 
and  fall  out,  or  hurt  himself  in  some  other 
way.  But  the  young  of  animals  are  made 
cautious  and  kept  from  harm  by  their  instinct. 

A  young  child  must  be  kept  from  danger 
by  an  older  person  while  he  is  too  young  to 
understand;  then  he  must  learn,  little  by  little, 
how  to  use  his  reason  and  his  will,  so  as  to 
know  for  himself  what  is  good  and  what 
will  do  him  harm.  Children  are  sent  to 
school  to  learn  how  to  think;  but  more  im- 
portant still,  both  at  home  and  at  school,  they 
should  be  taught  the  use  of  their  wills  to  con- 
trol their  actions. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  reproduc- 
tive instinct,  which  of  all  the  instincts  in  the 
human  being  can  least  be  depended  upon  to 
act  as  a  guide,  and  which  needs  most  of  all 
to  be  directed  and  controlled  by  the  reason 
and  the  will,  does  not  make  itself  felt  until  the 
child  has  had  time  to  practise  the  use  of  the 
reason  and  the  will  in  other  parts  of  his  life. 

The   time  when   the  reproductive  instinct 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

first  begins  to  make  itself  felt,  in  the  early 
teens,  is  the  most  important  and  critical  time 
in  a  boy's  or  girl's  life;  for  the  choices  that 
are  made,  and  the  habits  that  are  formed  at 
that  time,  will  have  an  important  influence  on 
the  whole  of  the  after  life. 

We  cannot  have  the  great  virtues  in  life 
unless  we  are  free.  We  can  never  be  true  or 
noble  or  pure  were  it  not  possible  to  be  untrue 
and  low  and  impure.  It  is  a  great  gift  that 
has  been  given  to  the  human  being,  this  gift 
of  choice,  with  which  to  shape  his  life.  Let 
us  all  strive  to  use  it  in  the  best  and  highest 
way  in  order  that  we  may  obey  the  law  of 
life  and  progress! 


[92] 


CHAPTER    IV 

THE    GIFT    OF    CHOICE 

CHOICE  is  such  a  wonderful  gift,  and 
can  be  made  of  such  great  value  to 
the  human  being  if  used  in  the  best 
and  wisest  way,  that  it  is  important  for  every- 
one to  be  taught  its  use  so  that  he  may 
progress  and  get  the  most  out  of  life. 
Choice  concerns  every  part  of  life,  but  I  am 
going  to  speak  only  of  those  choices  that  are 
in  some  way  concerned  with  the  reproductive 
instinct;  for  in  both  animal  and  human  life 
the  reproductive  instinct  is,  in  some  respects, 
the  most  important  instinct  there  is.  The 
other  instincts  affect  the  individual,  while  the 
reproductive  instinct  concerns  not  only  the  in- 
dividual, but  also  future  generations. 

In  animal  life,  this  instinct  has  become  so 
perfect  that  it  may  truly  be  called  the  race  in- 
stinct, because  it  makes  animals  do  those 
things  that  are  for  the  well-being  of  their 
species;  even  to  sacrificing  their  own  lives,  if 
necessary,  in  order  that  their  young  may  live. 
[93] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

But  in  human  beings,  instinct  cannot  be  de- 
pended upon  as  a  guide,  because  there  is  a 
gift  that  is  better;  and  one  that,  if  used 
rightly,  will  enable  them  to  progress  much 
farther  than  is  possible  in  animal  life.  In 
human  beings  too,  the  reproductive  instinct 
can  be  made  into  a  race  instinct  by  means  of 
the  gift  choice,  to  the  benefit  both  of  the  in- 
dividual and  of  the  race  as  a  whole. 

Choice  always  involves  two  things,  knowl- 
edge or  understanding,  and  determination  or 
will.  First  then  you  must  know  about  the 
reproductive  instinct;  what  it  is,  how  the  un- 
controlled instinct  brings  ruin  to  human  beings, 
and  how  the  same  instinct  when  controlled  by 
the  gift  choice  can  be  made  into  the  greatest 
blessing;  then  you  must  know  how  to  use  your 
will  so  as  to  make  the  reproductive  instinct 
a  real  race  instinct;  one  that  will  make  for 
progress  and  well-being  both  of  individuals 
and  of  the  race. 

When  the  reproductive  organs  of  the  boy 

or  girl  begin  to  grow  and  develop  between  the 

ages  of  twelve  and  fifteen,  the  nature  of  the 

boy  and  girl   changes  too.     They   are  then 

[94] 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

passing  from  childhood  into  young  manhood 
or  womanhood.  They  become  interested  in 
each  other  in  quite  a  different  way  from  what 
they  were  before.  Now  this  is  perfectly  na- 
tural and  quite  as  it  should  be,  if  the  young 
people  choose  to  act  in  the  right  way;  for  if 
they  always  remained  indifferent  to  each  other 
as  they  did  when  they  were  children,  they 
would  not  think  of  marrying  and  starting  a 
new  home,  no  children  would  be  born,  and 
the  race  would  not  continue. 

It  is  the  reproductive  instinct  which  makes 
young  people  of  the  opposite  sex  attracted  to 
each  other  as  they  grow  into  men  and  women, 
and  later  makes  them  marry  and  become 
fathers  and  mothers.  It  is  the  same  instinct 
which  made  the  salmon  swim  hundreds  of 
miles  to  reach  their  breeding-places.  It  sent 
the  queen  bee  on  her  mad  flight  into  the  air 
followed  by  the  drones,  and  it  urged  the  birds 
north,  singing  as  they  came,  to  build  their 
nests  and  breed  their  young  in  the  place  where 
they  were  born.  This  instinct  in  the  human 
being  is  right  and  good  only  if  it  is  governed 
by  choice;  for  then  it  grows  finer  and  finer  un- 
[95] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS    OF     LIFE 

til  it  develops  into  pure  love,  which  is  the 
greatest  thing  in  the  world.  But  if  it  is  al- 
lowed to  rule  blindly,  it  degenerates  into  un- 
controlled passion ;  the  lowest  and  basest  thing 
in  man,  which  sinks  him  far  lower  than  the 
animals. 

The  reproductive  instinct  varies  greatly 
between  the  two  sexes  and  in  different  indi- 
viduals of  the  same  sex.  In  some  it  is  much 
stronger  than  it  Is  in  others.  It  also  shows 
itself  in  many  different  ways,  so  that  it  is 
impossible  to  describe  this  instinct  in  any  defi- 
nite manner.  But  in  the  majority  of  cases, 
the  reproductive  instinct  in  the  unmarried 
girl  or  woman  expresses  itself  in  a  different 
way  from  the  same  instinct  in  the  boy  or  man. 
The  reproductive  instinct  in  the  girl  often 
shows  itself  most  strongly  in  her  desire  to 
mother  that  which  is  weak  and  needing  pro- 
tection and  help,  especially  little  children.  I 
think  this  is  its  most  beautiful  form.  Then 
too,  this  instinct  makes  her  long  for  com- 
panionship, affection  and  love.  It  makes  her 
like  to  be  admired  and  shown  attention.  It 
also  creates  in  her  the  desire  to  have  a  home 
[96] 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

and  children  of  her  own.  We  might  say, 
that  in  the  majority  of  cases,  a  girl's  repro- 
ductive instinct  is  more  indirect  than  a  man's, 
expressing  itself  in  many  different  ways.  But 
the  reproductive  instinct  of  the  boy  or  man 
is  very  direct  and  easily  aroused.  This  feel- 
ing is  spoken  of  as  passion.  In  most  cases,  a 
man  must  struggle  much  harder  than  a  girl 
in  order  to  keep  it  in  control.  When  a  girl 
allows  a  man  to  put  his  arm  around  her,  or 
hold  her  hand,  or  kiss  her,  very  often  it 
means  no  more  to  her  than  just  the  pleasure 
of  being  fondled  and  petted.  But  with  the 
man  it  is  quite  different.  The  pressure  of  the 
girl's  body  against  his  arm,  or  the  touch  of 
her  hand  or  lips  arouses  his  passion  just  as 
the  sight  of  the  queen  bee  soaring  up  towards 
heaven  stirred  a  similar  feeling  in  all  the 
drones  flying  lazily  about  in  the  sunshine. 
Oftentimes  this  passion  is  very  hard  to  con- 
trol, and  unless  a  man  fights  hard  to  choose 
wisely,  it  will  gain  control  over  him  and  lead 
him  to  actions  which  degrade  rather  than  up- 
lift both  himself  and  others. 

Because  a  man's  reproductive  instinct  is  so 
[97] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

much  more  direct  than  a  woman's,  don't  you 
see  that  a  woman  should  not  try  to  provoke  it 
in  any  way?  For  if  she  does,  a  man  may 
forget  entirely  his  great  power  to  choose,  and 
allow  his  instinct,  uncontrolled  by  reason  or 
choice,  to  drive  him  lower  and  lower  until 
he  is  ruled  by  his  baser  passion. 

Many  a  girl  who  would  not  allow  a  man 
to  kiss  her  or  put  his  arm  about  her,  never- 
theless arouses  his  passion  just  as  strongly  in 
quite  another  way.  That  is  by  making  eyes 
and  flirting;  by  those  little  coy  actions  which 
seem  to  say  "  Catch  me  if  you  can."  Proba- 
bly most  girls  who  enjoy  "  keeping  a  man  on 
the  string,"  as  they  call  it,  or  who  boast  of 
the  number  of  proposals  they  have  had,  would 
never  act  as  they  do  if  they  knew  how  hard 
they  were  making  it  for  the  man  to  keep  his 
purity  and  nobility. 

One  other  .way  in  which  girls  excite  a 
man's  feelings  and  tempt  him  to  degrade  him- 
self is  by  immodest  and  suggestive  dressing 
and  actions.  Unfortunately,  many  girls  have 
never  been  taught  the  importance  of  right 
conduct  and  dress;  nor  what  it  is  that  makes 
[98] 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

certain  actions  coarse  and  vulgar.  It  is  right 
for  a  girl  to  make  herself  look  attractive  by 
dressing  becomingly  and  neatly;  but  that  is 
an  entirely  different  thing  from  dressing  in  an 
extreme  way  so  as  to  call  attention  to  her 
figure.  It  should  be  the  girl  herself,  her  per- 
sonality, that  one  notices  first  and  not  the 
fantastic  appearance  of  her  body. 

The  same  thing  is  true  in  regard  to  actions. 
The  real  charm  in  a  woman  lies  largely  in  her 
manner.  It  is  only  men  of  the  lower  type 
that  are  attracted  to  a  girl  who  flaunts  her- 
self about,  and  by  her  actions,  calls  attention 
to  any  part  of  her  body.  The  better 
class  of  men  always  admire  and  respect  a  girl 
whose  dress  and  actions  show  an  inner  refine- 
ment and  good  breeding. 

Many  girls  act  in  a  vulgar  way  largely 
from  example,  and  quite  unconscious  of  what 
they  are  doing.  I  think  the  greatest  danger 
here  lies  in  dancing.  This  can  be  made  a 
pleasant,  harmless,  and  wholesome  amuse- 
ment; or  it  can  be  the  means  of  exciting 
a  man's  passion  in  a  most  dangerous  way.  It 
lies  largely  with  the  women  and  girls  to  de- 
[99] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

termine  which  it  shall  be'.  If  you  allow  a 
man  to  hold  you  pressed  closely  to  him,  or  if 
you  dance  the  slow  half-time  waltz,  you  will 
be  pretty  sure  to  arouse  these  feelings  in  him. 
There  are  too,  certain  motions  and  twistings 
of  the  body  which  some  low-minded  people 
have  introduced  into  the  dance-halls.  Many 
times  a  girl  is  tempted  to  imitate  this  style 
of  dancing  just  for  fun,  absolutely  igno- 
rant that  these  movements  are  a  direct  appeal 
to  a  man's  physical  nature,  and  one  of  the 
surest  means  of  arousing  his  passion. 

Just  as  the  little  birds  in  the  spring  stir 
jp  a  warmth  and  responsive  feeling  in  the 
breast  of  the  mate  they  are  courting  by  their 
coy  flirting  ways,  so  girls,  perhaps  quite  un- 
consciously, excite  a  similar  feeling  in  the  man 
with  whom  they  flirt  or  dance  or  act  in  the 
wrong  way.  Very  often  the  girl  who  arouses 
a  man's  passion  in  this  way  is  quite  ignorant 
of  what  she  has  done,  or  of  the  fact  that  on 
leaving  her,  he  will  be  tempted  to  relieve  his 
feelings  by  degrading  some  other,  some 
weaker  girl. 

When  the  time  comes  for  a  girl  to  go  out 
[100] 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

in  the  world  and  earn  her  living,  she  is  pretty 
sure  to  meet  all  kinds  of  people.  It  is  well, 
therefore,  for  her  to  understand  about  life 
so  that  she  may  protect  herself  against  its 
dangers.  For  although  everyone  has  been 
given  the  gift  of  choice,  there  are  some  who 
prefer  to  let  instinct  rule  their  lives.  These 
people  are  always  selfish,  caring  for  nothing 
but  that  which  will  bring  them  pleasure  or 
money. 

There  are  some  men  who  seek  only  their 
own  physical  pleasure,  no  matter  what  misery 
or  shame  they  may  bring  to  others.  These 
men  are  to  be  found  in  all  walks  of  life. 
Sometimes  it  is  the  man  with  whom  a  girl 
keeps  company,  or  one  whom  she  meets  in 
social  gatherings.  Sometimes  he  is  a  fellow- 
workman,  or  the  foreman  over  her,  or  even 
her  employer.  He  will  offer  all  sorts  of  in- 
ducements in  order  to  get  the  girl  to  yield  her- 
self to  him.  Such  a  man  will  often  begin  in 
a  harmless,  friendly  sort  of  way  if  he  sees  the 
girl  is  innocent  and  not  suspicious.  He  will 
send  little  gifts  and  invite  her  out  and  spend 
money  for  her  pleasure.  It  is  not  until  he 
[101] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

has  won  her  confidence,  or  perhaps  her  love, 
that  he  suggests  anything  wrong.  Then  he 
will  plead  his  love  for  her  and  try  to  get  her 
to  yield  to  him  under  promise  of  marriage. 
Such  a  man  does  not  know  the  meaning  of  the 
word  love.  True  love  is  unselfish,  always, 
gladly  sacrificing  itself,  if  need  be,  for  the 
object  of  its  love.  A  man  who  truly  loves  a 
girl  always  wants  her  to  keep  her  purity,  and 
will  never  sacrifice  that  to  his  pleasure.  What 
is  more,  when  a  man  has  induced  a  girl  to 
yield  herself  to  him  under  the  pretence  of  love 
or  the  promise  of  marriage,  more  often  than 
not  he  will  later  refuse  to  marry  her  and  will 
seek  a  girl  whose  honour  is  unstained. 

It  is  a  good  rule  never  to  accept  presents 
from  any  man  unless  you  are  engaged  to  be 
married  to  him.  Although  there  is  many  a 
pure  and  good  man  who  will  take  a  girl  to 
the  theatre  or  some  other  place  of  amusement 
with  no  other  thought  than  the  pleasure  of 
her  company,  unfortunately  there  are  others 
who  sooner  or  later  expect  a  return  for  the 
money  they  have  spent;  so  that  a  girl  should 
always  know  a  man  well  before  she  goes  out 
[102] 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

with  him,  and  should  then  refuse  to  go  again 
if  his  conduct  is  not  that  of  a  gentleman. 

There  is  a  second  class  for  which  you  must 
look  out.  It  is  composed  of  both  men  and 
women;  sometimes  even  of  boys  and  girls. 
They  are  called  procurers.  To  my  mind,  they 
are  worse  than  thieves  and  murderers.  They 
do  not  steal  a  girl's  money,  but  they  steal  her 
virtue,  which  is  of  infinitely  greater  value. 
They  may  not  kill  her  body,  but  they  poison 
her  soul.  These  procurers  induce  a  girl  to  go 
with  them  by  all  sorts  of  promises  of  an  easy 
position  with  big  pay,  or  a  good  time.  Then 
they  sell  her  to  some  man  for  his  base  pur- 
pose. Procurers  are  to  be  found  everywhere, 
and  you  must  be  ever  on  your  guard.  They 
go  to  dance-halls,  moving  picture  shows, 
amusement  parks,  and  other  places  of  amuse- 
ment; and  are  ready  to  make  a  girl  have  a 
good  time.  They  find  their  way  into  stores 
and  factories,  holding  out  tempting  offers  of 
easy  work  and  high  wages.  Frequently  they 
make  out  that  they  represent  some  theatrical 
company,  and  try  to  induce  girls  to  leave 
home  in  order  to  go  on  the  stage.  They 
[103] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF    LIFE 

meet  the  trains  in  our  large  railway-stations 
and  offer  to  show  strangers  to  a  nice  board- 
ing-place. They  are  friendly  to  the  girl  liv- 
ing in  a  boarding  or  furnished-room  house; 
and  are  always  on  the  lookout  for  those  who 
are  ready  for  a  good  time  or  are  ignorant  of 
the  dangers  of  a  great  city. 

Be  careful  of  the  acquaintances  you  make 
in.  places  of  amusement.  Never,  under  any 
circumstances,  go  off  with  a  stranger.  Be 
suspicious  of  work  which  is  easy  and  offers 
big  pay;  it  is  usually  only  a  trap  for  the 
innocent.  Do  not  be  too  intimate  with  people 
with  whom  you  board  or  near  whom  you  live 
until  you  are  sure  they  are  of  the  right  sort. 
If  you  are  doubtful  about  any  of  these  things, 
be  on  the  safe  side  and  keep  by  yourself  or 
with  friends  whom  you  know.  Never  take 
an  automobile  ride  with  a  stranger  who  stops 
on  the  street  and  invites  you  into  his  car. 
He  does  not  do  it  just  to  give  you  pleasure; 
he  will  be  sure  to  demand  his  pay.  Do  not 
allow  a  stranger  to  treat  you  to  a  drink,  even 
if  it  is  not  liquor  and  is  quite  harmless  in  it- 
self. Many  cases  have  been  known  where  a 
[104] 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

man  drugged  a  girl  in  this  way  and  got  her 
completely  under  his  control.  When  you  are 
answering  advertisements  and  looking  for 
work,  bear  these  things  always  in  mind  and 
avoid  any  place  of  which  you  are  the  least  sus- 
picious. Never,  under  any  circumstances,  al- 
low your  employer  or  any  other  man  to  take- 
any  liberty  with  you.  Remember  if  he  re- 
spects you  he  won't  do  it;  much  less  if  he  cares 
for  you  in  the  right  way. 

Not  only  must  you  understand  the  repro- 
ductive instinct  and  how  it  can  be  guided  and 
controlled,  but  you  must  know  the  impor- 
tance of  guarding  this  gift  of  choice  so  that 
you  may  never  be  deprived  of  its  use,  even  for 
a  short  time. 

You  have  often  heard  it  said  that  liquor 
is  one  of  the  greatest  enemies  of  the  human 
race,  but  I  wonder  if  you  have  ever  thought 
just  what  liquor  does.  It  takes  away  the 
power  of  choosing  altogether.  It  both  robs 
the  drinker  of  his  ability  to  reason,  and  it 
takes  away  his  will  power.  A  person  need 
not  be  drunk;  he  may  take  only  a  little,  just 
enough  to  excite  him;  but  when  in  this  state 
[105] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

he  cannot  reason  clearly,  and  his  actions  will 
be  governed  either  by  his  uncontrolled  instinct, 
or  they  will  depend  upon  what  his  companions 
tell  him  to  do. 

What  is  more,  alcohol  promotes  immoral- 
ity; for  it  not  only  takes  away  a  person's 
power  of  control,  but  it  excites  and  inflames 
his  passion.  Don't  touch  it  at  all,  and  don't 
go  with  a  man  who  drinks.  That  is  the  safest 
way,  for  then  you  will  not  expose  yourself  to 
danger. 

Alcohol  is  taken  into  the  blood  within  a 
very  few  minutes  after  it  reaches  the  stomach. 
Doctors  have  learned  by  experiment  that  alco- 
hol in  the  blood,  even  in  small  quantities,  in- 
terferes with  the  building  up  of  new  tissue 
in  the  body.  If  liquor  is  used  by  the  woman 
who  is  going  to  become  a  mother,  this  poison 
is  carried  through  her  blood  to  the  little 
growing  embryo.  As  a  result,  the  child  is  so 
weakened  through  lack  of  the  proper  nourish- 
ment that  it  is  sometimes  born  dead.  If 
alive,  he  may  be  more  or  less  deformed,  or 
weak,  either  in  body  or  mind;  all  because  his 
mother's  blood  was  robbed  of  its  life-giving 
[106] 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

qualities  so  necessary  for  the  proper  growth 
of  the  little  embryo. 

Some  doctors,  after  careful  study,  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  alcohol-  has  a 
directly  weakening  effect  upon  the  half-lives 
of  the  man  or  woman  taking  it.  Alcohol  is 
particularly  harmful  to  the  brain  and  nervous 
system,  so  that  the  children  of  parents  who 
drink  are  very  often  afflicted  with  epi- 
lepsy, or  are  born  idiots,  or  feeble-minded, 
or  just  dull.  Children  of  such  parents  are 
apt  to  be  weak  in  will  power  and  easily  led 
astray,  later  becoming  drunkards  or  even 
criminals.  This  has  been  proven  by  examin- 
ing the  children  in  asylums  for  idiots  and 
the  feeble-minded,  and  also  in  reformatories. 
It  has  been  found  by  investigation  that  a  very 
large  number  of  these  poor  unfortunates  were 
born  of  drinking  parents  and  thus  made  the 
victims  of  that  dreadful  poison. 

The  destruction  of  the  mind  and  the  will, 
resulting  in  idiots  or  criminals,  is  the  most 
dreadful  result  of  alcohol;  but  this  is  not 
nearly  so  common  a  result  as  just  dulness. 
One  doctor  in  New  York  made  a  study  not 
[107] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

long  ago  to  find  out  how  much  effect  alcohol 
has  upon  the  children  of  those  who  drink.  He 
examined  3700  school  children,  inquiring  into 
the  habits  of  both  the  parents  and  the  grand- 
parents in  regard  to  taking  intoxicating  drinks. 
He  learned  that  of  those  children  who  came 
from  homes  where  no  liquor  was  taken  by 
either  the  parents  or  the  grandparents,  only 
very  few  were  considered  dull  or  backward  in 
school,  whereas  the  majority  of  children  who 
had  difficulty  in  keeping  up  with  their  classes 
came  from  homes  where  at  least  one  member 
of  the  family,  either  parent  or  grandparent, 
had  the  drink  habit. 

Doctors  have  used  alcohol  in  one  form  or 
another  as  a  medicine;  but  in  recent  years, 
many  of  the  more  learned  doctors  are  using  it 
less  and  less,  while  some  will  not  give  it  at  all. 
When  people  come  to  understand  and  value 
the  great  gift  of  choice,  they  will  never  touch 
a  poison  that  will  cause  them  to  lose  this  gift; 
or  more  dreadful  still,  rob  their  helpless,  in- 
nocent children  of  the  full  powers  that  should 
belong  to  them. 

In  the  human  being,  all  the  instincts  are  in- 
[108] 


THE     GIFT     OF     CHOICE 

tended  to  be  under  the  guidance  and  control 
of  the  reason  and  the  will,  but  this  is  par- 
ticularly true  in  the  case  of  the  reproductive 
instinct.  Those  people  who  allow  this  in- 
stinct to  rule  them  always  become  poor  and 
weak  in  character,  and  often  suffer  pain  and 
weakness  in  their  bodies  too. 

It  seems  to  be  Nature's  way  of  working 
to  change  the  greatest  blessings,  when  wrongly 
used,  into  the  greatest  curses.  Just  think 
what  a  necessity  water  is !  We  could  not 
exist  without  it  for  very  long;  and  yet 
water  can  drown.  Fire,  too,  is  an  excellent 
servant  but  a  most  terrible  master.  The  same 
thing  is  true  with  respect  to  the  organs  of 
reproduction.  If  used  for  the  purpose  for 
which  they  were  intended,  they  bring  the 
greatest  blessings.  But  if  they  are  put  to 
wrong  uses  or  abused,  severe  punishment  fol- 
lows. 

Two  diseases  are  the  consequences  of 
wrong-doing.  They  are  both  germ  diseases 
and  are  passed  directly  from  one  person  to 
another,  either  through  immoral  living,  or  in 
marriage  with  a  person  who  has  the  disease. 
[109] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

These  diseases  are  also  contracted,  although 
much  less  frequently,  through  the  common 
drinking  cup  or  towels,  or  by  using  the  public 
toilet  seat;  or  perhaps  more  often,  by  kissing. 
Cases  have  been  known  where  a  man  infected 
his  mother  and  sisters  through  the  kiss,  or  an 
innocent  girl  contracted  the  disease  by  allow- 
ing a  young  man  to  kiss  her,  either  in  private, 
or  in  a  kissing  game.  So  you  see  that  aside 
from  the  moral  effect,  kissing  has  its  dangers 
on  the  side  of  health  too. 

One  of  these  diseases,  which  is  called  gonor- 
rhea, causes  an  inflammation  and  discharge 
in  the  reproductive  organs.  It  is  especially 
harmful  in  the  delicate  maternal  organs. 
Sometimes  this  condition  extends  to  the  ova- 
ries and  creates  so  much  disturbance  there 
that  the  girl  can  never  become  a  mother;  or 
perhaps,  if  the  trouble  has  started  after 
the  little  life  has  begun,  she  may  have  one 
child  but  may  never  have  another.  So 
also  in  the  male  organs  of  reproduction 
it  may  do  great  damage;  sometimes  prevent- 
ing a  man  from  ever  becoming  a  father.  It 
has  been  found  that  in  more  than  half 

[1 10] 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

of  the  marriages  where  a  child  is  wanted 
but  the  longing  is  unsatisfied,  the  cause  can 
be  traced  to  the  presence  of  this  disease.  If 
the  discharge  gets  into  the  baby's  eyes  as  the 
helpless  little  thing  is  passing  out  into  the 
world,  it  may  cause  it  to  become  blind.  Al- 
most all  of  the  blindness  of  new-born  infants 
is  due  to  this  infection.  Often  it  causes  so 
much  inflammation  and  pain  that  a  woman 
is  compelled  to  undergo  an  operation  and 
have  part  or  all  of  her  maternal  organs  re- 
moved. 

The  other  disease,  which  is  known  as 
syphilis,  is  not  confined  to  any  one  part  of  the 
body,  but  spreads  all  through  the  blood.  It 
may  attack  any  organ  and  bring  misery  in 
its  train.  Sometimes  it  even  sends  its  poison 
into  the  brain,  causing  insanity.  Syphilis  is  a 
most  terrible  murderer  of  children,  for  in  a 
more  certain  and  direct  way  than  any  other 
disease,  it  attacks  the  half-lives  of  those  who 
are  suffering  from  it  and  is  passed  on  to  the 
children.  If  the  mother  has  this  disease,  the 
germs  may  be  carried  through  her  blood  direct 
to  the  growing  embryo.  Very  often  syphilis 
[in] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

causes  the  embryo  to  die  before  it  is  fully 
developed.  If  the  baby  is  born  alivj,  it  is 
frequently  deformed  in  some  way,  or  an  idiot, 
or  so  delicate  it  lives  only  a  short  time,  or  if 
it  does  grow  up,  it  may  be  compelled  to  live 
without  its  full  share  of  health  and  vigour. 

Both  these  diseases,  although  so  terrible  in 
their  results,  can  be  greatly  relieved  and  their 
evil  consequences  lessened  if  they  are  taken 
in  time  and  treated  by  a  regular  physician  in 
good  standing.  Some  doctors,  who  are  called 
quacks,  advertise  wonderful  cures  which  they 
cannot  perform.  Often  they  do  more  harm 
than  good,  and  are  usually  after  the  money 
they  can  make.  For  those  who  cannot  afford 
a  private  physician,  there  are  always  good 
clinics,  especially  in  our  large  cities,  where  pa- 
tients can  get  proper  treatment  for  a  very 
small  sum.  If  those  who  are  suffering,  either 
through  wrong  conduct  or  innocently  in  mar- 
riage, would  take  proper  treatment,  the  suf- 
fering both  to  themselves  and  to  others  could 
be  greatly  reduced. 

I  am  telling  you  these  things  not  to  frighten 
you,  but  only  to  show  you  how  strictly  the  law 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

of  life  works,  especially  in  human  beings.  If 
they  do  not  use  their  gift  of  choice  so  as  to 
progress,  both  they  and  their  children  must 
suffer  the  terrible  consequences,  even  to  losing 
life  itself. 

As  you  have  just  seen,  the  reproductive  in- 
stinct, when  uncontrolled,  brings  ruin  and 
degradation  to  the  body.  Now  let  us  see 
how  the  same  instinct,  when  governed  by  the 
gift,  choice,  can  help  make  both  individuals 
and  the  race  to  progress,  and  so  become  a  real 
race  instinct.  There  are  four  different  occa- 
sions when  this  instinct,  if  guided  in  the  right 
way,  can  be  made  into  a  race  instinct.  The 
first  is  in  association  with  the  opposite  sex  in 
every  day  life,  the  second  in  choice  of  a 
partner  in  marriage,  the  third  in  motherhood, 
and  the  last  in  uplifting  the  whole  human  race. 

Nature  intended  boys  and  girls,  men  and 
women,  to  be  in  each  other's  company;  it  is 
unnatural  for  them  to  be  kept  entirely  apart. 
The  important  thing  is  that  when  together 
each  draws  out  the  best  that  is  in  the  other's 
nature.  Human  beings  have  three  sides  to 
their  natures ;  the  physical,  the  mental  and  the 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

spiritual.  When  two  people  meet,  they  call 
out  one  side  or  the  other.  We  are  always  in- 
fluencing those  with  whom  we  associate,  and 
being  influenced  by  them,  whether  we  know 
it  or  not. 

Since  Nature  gave  to  human  beings  three 
sides,  all  three  are  good;  for,  in  the  right  re- 
lation, whatever  is  from  Nature  is  pure  and 
right.  In  human  beings,  the  mental  and 
spiritual  sides  should  be  most  prominent,  be- 
cause it  is  through  these  two  that  choice  must 
do  its  work;  while  it  is  through  the  physical 
that  instinct  expresses  itself.  The  physical 
side  then,  was  intended  to  exist  for  the  sake 
of  the  mental  and  spiritual,  as  a  means  of 
expression  for  them;  if  allowed  to  rule,  it  al- 
ways degrades. 

You  know  now  how  to  keep  from  appeal- 
ing to  a  man's  physical  nature,  let  us  think  for 
a  moment  what  it  means  to  draw  out  his  bet- 
ter self.  Women  can  have  such  a  refining, 
uplifting  influence  on  men,  if  they  act  in  the 
right  way  and  insist  on  men  doing  so  too. 

Men  and  women  meet  together  constantly 
either  for  work  or  for  pleasure,  and  this  is 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

well;  for  they  can  enjoy  their  leisure  more  and 
do  the  work  of  the  world  better  together  than 
either  sex  could  do  entirely  alone.  The  rea- 
son for  this  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  two  sexes 
are  slightly  different;  men  are  more  developed 
on  one  side  and  women  on  another,  so  that 
together  they  balance  each  other  and  form  the 
perfect  whole.  This  is  true  both  in  their 
work  and  in  their  play. 

There  are  many  interesting  things  to  talk 
about  in  life;  both  men  and  women  can  be 
benefited  by  seeing  the  other's  point  of  view. 
There  are  innocent  stories  or  jokes  to  tell,  and 
games  to  play.  There  are  beauties  in  Nature 
to  see,  and  music  to  enjoy,  and  books  to  read 
together.  But  it  is  when  men  and  women 
have  high  ideals  in  common,  when  they  work 
together  for  some  great  reform,  or  for  the 
uplifting  both  of  their  own  characters  and  of 
humanity,  that  the  greatest  good  is  gained, 
both  for  themselves  and  for  others. 

Another  time  in  which  the  reproductive  in- 
stinct can  be  made  into  a  race  instinct,  if  di- 
rected right,  is  in  the  choice  of  a  partner  in 
marriage. 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

Throughout  all  life,  the  mating  of  two  in- 
dividuals for  the  purpose  of  continuing  life  in 
the  race  is  of  the  greatest  importance.  This 
has  been  brought  about  in  different  ways  in 
the  different  forms  of  life,  according  to  the 
gifts  that  they  have  received. 

Plants  have  only  one  gift,  dependence.  It 
is  with  that  gift  that  the  mating  of  the  best  in- 
dividuals is  secured  and  plant  life  helped  to 
progress. 

Animals  have  a  second  gift,  instinct.  That 
instinct  which  has  to  do  with  the  care  and  re- 
production of  the  young  I  have  called  the  race 
instinct,  for  it  makes  the  animal  do  those 
things  that  are  for  the  good  of  the  race,  rather 
than  of  the  individual. 

But  human  beings  have  been  given  three 
different  gifts.  They  must  use  the  third  and 
best  gift,  choice,  in  the  important  matter  of 
marriage  if  human  life  is  to  progress.  Some 
people  use  the  first  gift,  dependence,  in  select- 
ing a  mate.  Some  girls  will  marry  a  man,  no 
matter  what  he  is,  so  long  as  he  has  plenty 
of  money.  Others  depend  upon  good  looks, 
or  social  position,  and  will  marry  for  that. 
[116] 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

But  such  marriages  rarely  ever  turn  out  hap- 
pily and  often  end  in  divorce. 

Then  there  is  a  much  larger  class  of  people 
that  use  their  second  gift,  instinct,  as  a  guide 
in  marrying.  A  man  and  a  woman  are  often 
attracted  to  each  other  physically.  They  feel 
a  sort  of  fascination  for  each  other.  Then 
they  say  they  are  in  love,  and  often  marry 
without  really  knowing  anything  about  the 
different  sides  of  each  other's  natures.  After 
they  are  married  and  cares  begin  to  come, 
the  mere  physical  attraction  wears  off.  Only 
too  often  they  wake  up  to  find  that  they  have 
nothing  in  common,  and  then  they  want  to 
separate.  Men  who  can  be  appealed  to  only 
on  the  physical  side  never  make  good  husbands 
or  fathers,  and  are  often  no  better  than  brutes. 

It  is  only  those  that  use  their  third  gift, 
choice,  when  taking  a  partner  for  life,  who 
bring  happiness  to  themselves  and  well-being 
to  their  children.  For  young  people  who  use 
their  gift  of  choice  never  marry  until  they  have 
known  each  other  long  enough  and  well 
enough  to  be  sure  that  they  think  alike  on  all 
the  large,  important  things  of  life,  and  that 
["7] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

they  are  working  towards  the  same  ends  and 
ideals. 

Within  recent  years  there  has  come  into 
being  a  new  science  called  Eugenics  which  is 
arousing  much  interest  both  in  this  country 
and  in  Europe.  Just  as  Luther  Burbank  is 
working  to  improve  plants  by  breeding,  so 
those  interested  in  Eugenics  are  working  to 
improve  the  human  race  by  proper  selection 
in  marriage. 

Eugenics  has  two  objects.  First  it  would 
prevent  certain  classes  from  reproducing  their 
kind.  These  would  include  the  insane,  the 
idiots,  the  feeble-minded,  those  afflicted  with 
certain  diseases,  and  also  the  confirmed  crim- 
inals and  drunkards.  It  would  treat  these 
people  kindly  while  they  live,  but  prevent  them 
absolutely  from  handing  down  their  afflictions 
to  the  next  generation.  In  the  second  place, 
Eugenics  would  encourage  the  marriage  of 
those  who  would  make  good  parents  and  pro- 
duce strong  healthy  children. 

People  interested  in  Eugenics  are  working 
in  many  different  ways  to  accomplish  these  ob- 
jects; but  perhaps  the  best  way  of  all  is  by 
[118] 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

teaching  young  people  the  meaning  of  life 
and  the  importance  of  seeking  the  best  both  in 
themselves  and  in  others;  so  that  when  a  girl 
does  fall  in  love  and  marry,  it  will  be  with 
one  who  is  worthy  of  being  both  husband  and 
father.  Some  people  say  that  to  use  such  care 
in  marriage  would  be  to  take  all  the  romance 
out  of  life,  but  that  is  not  so  at  all;  rather 
it  would  lift  marriage  to  a  higher  plane,  and 
with  it  the  finer  feelings  of  sentiment  and 
love. 

Girls  speak  of  falling  in  love  as  if  it  were 
something  over  which  they  have  no  control; 
but  they  can  control  it  in  a  certain  way.  You 
would  not  fall  in  love  with  a  man  who  was  un- 
clean or  repulsive  in  his  person;  your  reason 
would  not  allow  you  to.  Now  you  can  so 
raise  your  ideals  of  what  to  demand  in  men, 
that  it  would  be  just  as  impossible  to  fall  in 
love  with  a  man  who  had  unclean  thoughts  or 
low  ideals,  as  it  would  be  to  love  one  who  was 
repulsive  looking  or  had  disgusting  habits. 

To  those  women  who  want  strong,  healthy 
children,  it  is  just  as  important  that  their  hus- 
bands should  be  strong  and  clean  and  healthy 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

as  it  is  to  be  so  themselves.  I  have  given 
the  name  half-lives  to  the  sperms  and  the  ova, 
because  it  is  easy  to  remember  that  it  takes 
two  halves  to  make  a  whole.  Each  half  is 
equally  important,  and  gives  equally  of  its 
characteristics,  both  physical  and  mental, 
whether  for  good  or  for  evil,  to  the  life  of  the 
offspring. 

Some  states  have  passed  laws  compelling  a 
doctor's  certificate  to  show  freedom  from  cer- 
tain diseases  before  issuing  a  marriage 
license.  This  is  not  the  case  in  all  states,  but 
parents  can  always  demand  a  clean  bill  of 
health  before  giving  their  consent  to  their 
daughter's  marriage.  In  this  way  they  may 
often  save  her  much  suffering  afterwards,  and 
also  help  to  improve  the  human  race. 

Every  normal  girl  loves  children  and  looks 
forward  to  having  little  ones  of  her  own  some 
day;  so  she  too  will  want  to  know  that  her 
husband  has  no  disease  which  might  afflict  her 
children,  or  worse  still,  cut  her  off  altogether 
from  the  joy  of  motherhood;  the  greatest 
blessing  that  can  come  to  a  woman. 

Motherhood  has  been  one  of  the  most  re- 
[120] 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

fining  and  uplifting  influences  that  mankind 
has  known,  and  has  greatly  affected  human 
progress.  The  animal  mother  cares  for 
her  young  while  they  are  weak  and  help- 
less, but  as  soon  as  they  are  grown  and  able 
to  care  for  themselves,  she  pays  no  more  at- 
tention to  them.  The  human  baby  has  a 
longer  period  of  infancy  and  needs  care  for  a 
much  longer  time  than  any  animal  does.  This 
long  period  of  sacrifice  and  care  necessary  to 
raise  a  little  child  has  brought  out  so  much  of 
the  mother's  love  and  tenderness  that  it  can 
never  die  out.  History  teaches  us  that  from 
very  early  times  the  human  mother  loved  her 
children  even  after  they  were  fully  grown. 
Gradually,  this  feeling  of  tenderness,  this 
spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  extended  to  others  not 
her  children  but  who  were  in  need  of  love 
and  care;  until  to-day,  the  spirit  of  mother- 
hood broods  over  the  whole  human  world. 
Some  people  think  that  motherhood  is  the 
best  interpretation  we  have  of  the  nature  of 
God. 

Motherhood  at  its  best  is  like  the  freshly 
fallen  snow  in  its  wonder  and  beauty  and  pu- 

[121] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

rity;  but  motherhood  degraded  is  like  the 
same  snow  after  it  has  been  trampled  by  men 
and  horses  in  a  busy  street.  How  important 
it  is  that  we  keep  motherhood  in  the  high 
place  where  it  belongs,  and  never  allow  it  to 
be  associated  with  anything  that  is  sinful  and 
impure ! 

Unfortunately,  many  girls  are  denied  the 
blessing  of  physical  motherhood.  While  mar- 
riage is  the  normal  life  for  a  woman,  it  is  bet- 
ter far  to  remain  single  than  it  is  to  marry 
some  man  who  is  unworthy  of  being  a  father. 
Happily,  in  human  life,  mother  love  can  be 
satisfied  in  other  ways  than  by  having  children 
of  one's  own  to  care  for. 

In  speaking  of  the  reproductive  instinct 
in  the  animals,  I  called  it  the  race  instinct;  be- 
cause in  animals  that  live  in  a  wild  state,  this 
instinct  exists  for  the  benefit  of  the  race  rather 
than  the  individual.  The  reproductive  in- 
stinct might  be  called  the  race  instinct  in  hu- 
man beings  too,  when  it  is  guided  and  directed 
by  the  reason  and  the  will ;  for  people  who  rule 
their  instincts  take  the  big  broad  view  of  what 
is  good  for  society  as  a  whole,  and  never  do 
anything  which  will  bring  injury  and  degra- 

[122] 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

dation  to  others  in  order  to  give  themselves 
a  passing  pleasure.  Such  people  not  only 
help  the  race  to  progress,  but  they  progress 
themselves  in  the  finest,  deepest  way;  for 
they  are  growing  strong  and  beautiful  in  char- 
acter. 

We  all  have  certain  impulses  and  desires 
and  feelings  that  are  closely  connected  with 
the  organs  of  reproduction.  These  are  given 
to  us,  and  are  intended  for  a  blessing;  but 
human  beings  can  make  of  them  either  a  bless- 
ing or  a  curse. 

I  am  going  to  show  you  how  this  re- 
productive instinct  can  be  directed  by  the 
reason  and  the  will  so  as  to  be  made  a  real 
race  instinct;  one  which  will  make  for  the 
progress  of  the  whole  human  race,  as  well  as 
for  every  individual  that  understands  and 
directs  it  in  the  highest  way. 

In  every  baby  that  is  born  into  the  world 
are  glands  containing  half-lives ;  the  male  half- 
lives  or  sperms  in  the  boy,  and  the  female 
half-lives  or  ova  in  the  girl.  These  half- 
lives  are  kept  alive  and  nourished  by  the 
blood  of  the  person  with  whom  they  live. 
But  in  return,  the  blood  receives  from  these 
[123] 


glands  some  substance  which  has  a  marked 
effect  upon  the  life  of  the  individual.  This 
is  true  in  both  the  male  and  the  female.  It 
can  be  seen  in  the  higher  animals  and  the 
savages,  but  it  grows  more  and  more  im- 
portant the  higher  we  go  in  civilised  life. 
Perhaps  I  can  explain  what  I  mean  by  show- 
ing you  the  effect  that  these  glands  produce 
upon  some  of  the  animals. 

When  animals  live  in  the  wild  state,  they 
have  to  hunt  for  their  food;  therefore  they 
are  seldom  either  overfed  or  suffer  from  lack 
of  exercise.  But  domestic  animals  have 
plenty  to  eat;  while  those  that  are  not  free 
to  roam  cannot  work  off  their  energy.  Some- 
times this  unnatural  way  of  living  makes 
them  so  restless  and  savage  that  they  are 
hard  to  manage  and  lose  their  usefulness  to 
men.  It  is  possible  to  change  the  nature  of 
these  animals  by  removing  the  glands  contain- 
ing the  half-lives  while  they  are  still  young. 
This  is  often  done  with  the  males  of  some 
animals  in  order  to  produce  certain  results. 
Calves,  when  so  treated,  instead  of  develop- 
ing into  bulls,  so  full  of  life  and  spirit  that 
[124] 


THE     GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

they  have  to  be  kept  chained  by  the  nose  for 
fear  they  will  hurt  someone,  become  patient 
stupid  oxen,  useful  only  as  beasts  of  burden 
for  drawing  heavy  loads.  All  the  male 
horses  that  you  see  being  driven  along  the 
streets  have  had  their  glands  containing  the 
half-lives  removed  when  they  were  young; 
for  if  this  had  not  been  done,  they  would  de- 
velop into  stallions;  magnificent  animals,  but 
so  full  of  life  and  fire  that  only  the  most 
expert  horsemen  could  manage  them.  This 
change  of  nature  which  is  produced  by  re- 
moving the  glands  containing  the  half-lives 
proves  that  these  glands  give  something  to 
the  blood  which  supplies  the  life  and  force 
and  energy  to  the  individual. 

Now  this  same  thing  is  true  in  the  human 
being.  The  glands  containing  the  half-lives 
both  of  the  man  and  of  the  woman  are  of 
use  in  two  ways.  First  they  supply  what  is 
necessary  for  the  continuation  of  life;  that 
little  children  may  be  born.  But  they  are  of 
use  in  this  way  only  a  few  times  in  the  life  of 
each  person,  and  sometimes  not  at  all;  while 
in  the  second  way  they  can  be  of  use  all  the 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

time.  For  it  is  from  these  glands  that  the 
blood  receives  something  which  supplies  much 
of  the  energy  and  power  and  force  to  life, 
and  which  helps  to  make  the  nature  of  the 
person,  or  what  we  call  personality.  It  is 
this  life  force  that  goes  toward  making  the 
manliness  in  men  and  the  attractiveness  in 
women. 

In  animal  life,  the  surplus  energy  is  worked 
off  in  a  natural  way;  but  in  human  beings  it 
needs  to  be  directed.  This  can  be  done  be- 
cause the  feelings  are  expressed  through  the 
mind.  Under  the  guidance  of  the  reason 
and  the  power  of  the  will,  the  life  force  can 
be  directed  into  any  channel  the  individual 
desires  and  be  made  to  serve  in  the  different 
activities  of  life.  It  is  largely  through  the 
reproductive  instinct,  in  one  form  or  another, 
that  the  life  force  expresses  itself. 

There  are  three  ways  in  which  the  repro- 
ductive instinct  can  be  treated.  First  it  can 
be  allowed  to  rule.  An  individual  can  simply 
do  whatever  his  instinct  prompts.  This  is 
the  course  taken  by  many  young  people 
through  ignorance;  because  they  have  not 
[126] 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

known  how  to  rule  their  lives  by  choice.  But 
it  leads  to  disaster  and  ruin;  physical  as  well 
as  moral.  It  is  like  a  spring  torrent  dash- 
ing down  the  mountainside,  sweeping  away 
bridges  and  houses  and  everything  else  in  its 
path.  Those  who  follow  their  instinct,  with 
no  thought  of  directing  or  controlling  it,  are 
throwing  away  their  power,  allowing  it  to  do 
harm  where  it  might  do  good. 

The  second  way  to  treat  the  reproductive 
instinct  is  to  try  to  suppress  it,  to  ignore  it, 
to  crowd  it  out  of  existence.  When  this  is 
done,  what  happens  is  much  the  same  as 
comes  from  damming  up  the  water  to  form 
a  pond  without  allowing  for  an  outlet.  The 
water  becomes  stale,  and  in  time  dries  up  al- 
together. If  one's  natural  feelings,  par- 
ticularly the  beautiful  mother  instinct,  are  not 
given  any  means  of  expression,  then  not  only 
may  this  life  force  be  of  no  use  in  bringing 
little  ones  into  the  world,  but  its  value  to  the 
individual  and  to  society  is  lessened  also. 
Life  with  no  outlet,  suppressed  and  blocked 
up,  grows  dull  and  stale.  Such  people  seem 
to  shrivel  up  in  nature.  They  neither  get 
[127] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

much  out  of  life  for  themselves,  nor  are 
they  of  any  great  value  to  others. 

But  there  is  a  third  way;  to  recognise  and 
welcome  this  life  force  so  as  to  make  it  a 
blessing  instead  of  a  curse;  to  direct  and  con- 
trol the  reproductive  instinct  so  that  it  may 
do  good  instead  of  harm;  that  it  may  bring 
life  to  the  individual  and  benefit  to  the  race, 
thus  becoming  a  true  race  instinct.  Then 
the  life  force  will  be  like  a  river  flowing 
through  its  channel,  watering  the  land  along 
its  banks,  and  turning  the  mill  wheels  on  its 
course;  a  blessing  to  all  with  whom  it  comes 
in  contact. 

In  women,  the  race  instinct  shows  itself 
very  often  through  the  mother  instinct. 
Those  who  cannot  have  children  of  their 
own,  instead  of  trying  to  suppress  their  long- 
ings, or  brooding  over  their  loss,  can  direct 
this  instinct  and  make  it  a  force,  a  power  for 
good.  It  is  this  very  race  instinct,  directed 
and  controlled,  which  has  made  some  women 
so  gentle  as  nurses,  and  some  so  patient  as 
teachers,  and  others  so  strong  and  fearless 
when  fighting  some  great  wrong  and  protect- 
[128] 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

ing  the  weak  and  helpless.  Every  woman 
should  have  some  channel  through  which  she 
can  direct  this  mother  instinct  so  that  her  life 
does  not  grow  small  and  narrow.  If  she  has 
children  of  her  own,  she  has  a  great  and  won- 
derful opportunity  for  the  use  of  all  her  pow- 
ers; that  of  bringing  her  little  ones  up  to 
noble  manhood  and  womanhood.  If  she  has 
not,  she  should  seek  some  other  outlet  for  this 
force;  some  way  of  using  her  mother  instinct 
to  help  those  weaker  and  more  ignorant  than 
herself;  that  her  life  force  may  be  used  both 
for  the  good  of  others  and  as  a  means  of  en- 
larging her  own  life. 

The  same  thing  is  true  with  regard  to  men. 
It  has  been  proved  by  experiment  that  men 
who  live  straight  clean  lives  in  early  man- 
hood, up  to  the  time  of  marriage,  gain 
strength  and  vigor  for  their  own  bodies  from 
the  life  force  which  is  given  to  the  blood  from 
the  reproductive  organs;  so  that  when  they 
marry,  they  are  better  able  to  give  their  chil- 
dren a  good  inheritance  than  those  do  who 
have  been  living  a  fast  life. 

In  later  life  too,  it  is  perfectly  possible  for 
[129] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

a  man  to  remain  single  and  lead  a  pure  life. 
It  is  difficult  for  anyone  to  keep  his  actions 
pure,  his  body  healthy,  and  his  nerves  strong 
and  active,  if  he  allows  his  thoughts  to  dwell 
constantly  on  his  unsatisfied  longings.  But 
it  is  possible  to  live  an  active  life,  either  phys- 
ically or  mentally,  and  use  the  life  force  in 
other  parts  of  life  by  consciously  directing  the 
attention  to  something  else.  There  have 
been  many  cases  known  to  history  of  men 
who  have  been  unmarried,  but  whose  lives 
have  been  perfectly  pure;  men  who  have  had 
some  great  purpose  in  life,  and  who  have  so 
directed  their  race  instinct  that  they  have 
turned  it  towards  working  out  this  purpose. 

Men  and  women  who  so  direct  their  race 
instinct  as  to  make  it  of  benefit  to  the  race, 
are  obeying  the  law  of  life  in  the  very  highest 
way,  for  they  are  doing  consciously  by  their 
third  gift  what  the  animals  did  through  in- 
stinct; they  are  caring  more  for  the  good  of 
others  than  for  their  own  pleasure.  At  the 
same  time  they  are  strengthening  their  own 
personality  so  that  they  are  able  to  do  ever 
greater  and  larger  good.  Someone  has  truly 
[130] 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

said,  "  Personality  is  the  highest  form  of 
force  there  is  " ;  for  there  is  no  other  power 
on  earth  that  can  accomplish  such  wonderful 
results  as  the  power  of  a  great  personality. 

You  can  see  now  the  wonderful  working  of 
Nature.  She  has  given  us  the  gift  choice; 
she  has  set  heavy  penalties  for  its  wrong  use; 
but  she  has  rewarded  its  right  use  with  the 
greatest  blessings.  Since  this  is  the  case,  it 
is  not  only  possible,  but  necessary,  to  the 
highest  development  of  both  men  and  women 
that  they  should  live  pure,  clean  lives. 

For  a  long  time  society  has  demanded  a 
high  standard  of  purity  for  women;  but  it 
has  excused  immoral  conduct  in  men.  It  has 
not  frowned  on  what  it  called  "  just  sowing 
wild  oats."  But  now  a  change  has  come. 
We  see  the  wrong  and  folly  of  what  is  known 
as  a  double  standard  of  morals;  "a  golden 
standard  for  women  and  a  leaden  standard 
for  men,"  as  one  man  has  called  it.  For  the 
good  of  humanity  there  must  be  only  one 
standard  for  all.  What  is  wrong  for  a 
woman  is  equally  wrong  for  a  man.  Men 
must  come  up  to  the  high  standard  of  per- 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

sonal  purity  that  society  demands  of  its  women 
if  the  nation  is  to  make  any  progress. 

It  is  just  as  possible  for  a  man's  life  to  be 
pure  as  it  is  for  a  woman's.  There  are  two 
things  to  prove  this.  In  the  first  place,  a  man 
has  been  given  the  gift  of  choice  with  which 
to  shape  his  life  just  the  same  as  a  woman. 
No  man  would  ever  say  that  his  reason  and 
his  will  power  were  inferior  to  those  of  a 
woman.  In  the  second  place,  several  different 
times  noted  doctors  have  come  together  to 
study  this  problem.  Each  time  they  have 
proved  by  experiment  that  unmarried  men 
can  and  do  live  perfectly  pure,  clean  lives  by 
directing  their  thoughts  to  other  things  than 
just  their  physical  longings,  and  that  these 
men  not  only  keep  their  health,  but  have 
better  health  than  those  do  who  are  living 
in  an  immoral  way. 

It  is  largely  through  the  women  that  this 
change  from  a  double  to  a  single  standard  is 
going  to  come.  When  women  demand  purity 
in  men,  men  are  going  to  give  it.  When  a 
man  knows  that  he  cannot  marry  the  girl  of 
his  choice  after  he  has  been  leading  a  fast  life, 
[132] 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

he  will  be  more  careful  of  his  conduct  and 
will  choose  to  live  clean  and  pure.  Women 
can  do  three  things  to  help  the  race 
progress ;  seek  the  best  in  themselves,  demand 
the  best  in  men,  and  teach  little  children  how 
to  use  their  gift  of  choice. 

There  is  one  great  path  over  which  human 
life  can  progress;  the  path  of  the  thoughts, 
and  one  great  human  power  which  can  supply 
the  force  to  send  the  thoughts  in  the  desired 
direction;  the  power  of  the  will.  We  are 
taught  to  look  for  help  to  a  power  higher  than 
human,  but  this  help  can  be  obtained  only 
through  the  cooperation  of  the  human  will. 

Thoughts  are  the  most  important  things  in 
human  life,  because  the  way  a  person  thinks 
determines  what  his  life  shall  be.  Thoughts 
come  first,  always,  and  then  actions.  You 
could  never  do  an  impure  or  unkind  act  if  you 
never  thought  anything  but  pure  and  loving 
thoughts.  On  the  other  hand,  it  will  be  al- 
most impossible  to  keep  your  actions  pure  and 
sweet  if  you  allow  impure  or  hateful  thoughts 
to  fill  your  mind.  The  things  we  think  about 
have  a  very  important  effect  upon  our  char- 
[i33] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

acters.  They  can  either  build  up  into  strong 
fine  noble  manhood  or  womanhood,  or  they 
can  pull  down  to  something  pitifully  low  and 
degrading. 

If  you  want  to  choose  right  and  progress, 
be  careful  of  the  thoughts  you  entertain  and 
of  the  different  avenues  through  which  they 
enter  your  mind.  You  would  not  put  impure 
or  unclean  food  into  your  stomach.  Do  not 
allow  impure  or  unclean  thoughts  to  enter 
your  mind.  It  is  far  more  important,  be- 
cause the  effect  lasts  longer.  If  you  eat  bad 
food  it  may  make  you  sick;  but  when  you  get 
over  it  in  a  few  days,  the  stomach  acts  just 
the  same  as  it  did  before.  If  you  allow 
wrong  thoughts  to  enter  your  mind,  they  make 
an  impression  which  may  be  lasting. 

In  order  to  keep  the  thoughts  on  a  high 
level,  two  things  are  necessary;  first  to  keep 
out  those  thoughts  that  are  impure  and  dis- 
agreeable and  lowering;  and  second  to  feed 
the  mind  with  good  and  uplifting  thoughts. 

Be  careful  of  the  companions  you  go  with, 
the  things  you  read,  and  the  plays  you  see. 
Do  not  listen  to  coarse  stories  or  jokes,  or  to 
[134] 


THE    GIFT     OF    CHOICE 

slander  or  mean  gossip.  Don't  fill  your  mind 
with  the  scandals  that  are  daily  served  up  in 
the  newspapers  or  go  to  see  plays  of  a  low 
moral  character.  Finally,  be  careful  of  your 
thoughts  when  they  are  free  to  roam.  This 
is  not  easy,  but  by  persistent  practice,  one's 
thoughts  can  be  controlled  to  a  large  extent. 
Those  who  fight  to  win  a  hard  thing  and  suc- 
ceed, show  their  superiority  over  those  who 
give  up  weakly  without  even  trying.  At  the 
same  time  they  are  making  it  easier  to  over- 
come the  next  obstacle  they  meet. 

There  is  only  one  way  to  keep  out  unde- 
sirable thoughts,  and  that  is  to  put  good  ones 
in  their  place.  Feed  your  mind  with  high 
uplifting  thoughts.  Many  people  keep  their 
bodies  well  nourished,  but  their  souls  are  so 
starved  for  lack  of  food,  that  they  cannot 
grow,  and  as  a  result  are  small  and  unde- 
veloped. Look  for  the  beautiful  things  in 
life.  Make  it  your  business  to  read  some- 
thing good  every  day,  if  only  a  little,  let  it 
be  good  and  let  it  sink  deep  into  your  mind 
so  that  you  think  about  it.  It  is  a  very  good 
habit  to  keep  a  small  note  book  in  which  to 
[135] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

copy  any  beautiful  bit  of  poetry  or  sentiment 
which  happens  to  come  your  way.  Carry 
this  little  book  around  in  your  hand  bag. 
Then,  any  time  when  you  are  on  a  car,  in- 
stead of  reading  the  advertisements,  take  out 
the  little  book  and  commit  something  to 
memory.  If  you  do  this  faithfully,  after  a 
while  you  will  have  a  whole  stock  of  am- 
munition with  which  to  drive  out  evil  thoughts 
or  feelings,  as  well  as  material  with  which 
to  build  a  beautiful  palace  for  your  soul  to 
live  in. 

To  come  back  now  to  what  I  said  in  the 
very  beginning  of  my  talks.  The  law  of  life 
is  progress.  That  life  which  does  not  pro- 
gress is  punished;  either  by  being  cut  off  from 
the  best  things,  or  by  having  life  itself  taken 
away. 

This  is  true  of  plant  life,  and  animal  life, 
and  human  life,  but  the  law  is  most  strict 
in  human  life  because  that  is  the  highest  life 
of  all  upon  our  earth,  and  has  been  given  the 
most  and  the  finest  gifts. 

The  plants  have  only  one  gift,  and  that 
the  simplest  of  all,  dependence,  but  with  it 
[136] 


they  have  made  great  progress  and  have 
grown  strong  and  useful  and  beautiful.  The 
animals  have  a  second  gift,  instinct;  which  in 
the  highest  animals,  has  become  so  perfect 
that  we  cannot  imagine  how  instinct  could 
grow  any  finer  or  enable  those  animals  to 
make  any  further  progress. 

Human  beings  have  been  given  three  gifts, 
the  third  one  choice,  the  best  of  all.  But 
human  beings  have  not  yet  learned  how  to 
choose  as  they  might.  A  few  that  have  used 
this  gift  well,  stand  out  as  great  men  and 
women  and  are  looked  up  to  as  heroes. 
Many  do  not  know  how  to  choose  at  all. 
Some  do  not  even  seem  to  know  they  can 
choose,  but  try  to  depend  on  their  instincts  as 
though  they  were  still  animals. 

By  looking  back  through  history,  we  learn 
that  the  progress  of  the  human  race  can  be 
measured  by  the  way  that  men  and  women 
have  made  use  of  choice;  on  the  side  of  rea- 
son to  develop  their  minds,  and  on  the  side 
of  the  will  to  develop  their  characters. 

As  we  look  forward,  we  do  not  yet  know  to 
what  heights  the  human  race  will  rise;  but  we 
[137] 


THE     THREE     GIFTS     OF     LIFE 

do  know  that  when  humanity  learns  to  use 
reason  as  a  guide,  and  develops  the  will 
power  so  as  to  make  it  a  force  for  good,  that 
both  individuals  and  the  race  as  a  whole  will 
be  rewarded  by  gaining  ever  greater  richness 
and  fullness  and  power  in  life.  We  believe 
the  promise  is  true.  Those  who  use  their  gift 
of  choice  in  the  finest  way  and  who  over- 
come the  tetnptations  that  come  to  them,  shall 
receive  for  their  reward  the  Crown  of  Life 


THE  END 


[138] 


